Please join us in congratulating Summer Term 2023 alumna, Layasree (“Laya”) Vemmata Gopi, for winning the Monaco Ocean Protection Challenge in the Business Concepts Category for her concept, Cool Equity. 

Cool Equity is a concept that aims to help reduce seafood waste and solve the problem of bycatch and overfishing, as well as to support and stand with the fishing communities that rely on the oceans for their survival by providing them with affordable and decentralized cold storage services to store seafood. 

Creating Sustainable Business Solutions Inspired By The Island School

Laya has been working on this idea for the past 3 years, drawing inspiration from her love of the ocean and her Summer Term at The Island School. She has also seen how climate change is negatively affecting fishing communities in the Global South and her home in India. These communities rely on the ocean for their livelihood, but rapid changes in development and climate are causing unprecedented hardships for them.

Laya said, “The Island School has been the biggest force in achieving this, as it was my first close encounter with the ocean and introduction to the world of marine science and diving. From the marine ecology lessons, scuba diving, communal living, and the warm community of people, it is what helped me cultivate a deep sense of place and develop an even deeper appreciation for the ocean and for everything the ocean does for us. That is when I realised that there is so much that we can do to help protect our oceans and the people whose livelihoods are tied to them. My time at The Island School is what inspired me to build Cool Equity with intention from the rich experiences I’ve had during my time in the Bahamas being so close to the ocean, where I was amazed by all the beauty of the marine ecosystems, organisms and people who all coexist harmoniously in the beautiful island of Eleuthera. The Island School will always be my home away from home. I thank The Island School for everything that it has given me and for the ways in which it helped me grow as a person, through which I gained the courage to stand up for our oceans today.”

Laya is currently pursuing her Undergraduate Degree in Biology and Environmental Studies at Ashoka University in India. We’re so proud of Laya for her commitment to creating a more sustainable future.