Building the Reef in the Rain

Omar and Hassan constructing metal cages for outplanting coral

As part of our ongoing commitment to restore the Diani-Chale National Marine Reserve, we’re excited to share an important update on our coral reef restoration project funded by the PADI AWARE Foundation.

While the rainy season has brought a pause to some of our diving activities, it has also given us the perfect opportunity to focus our efforts on a key deliverable of the project: the construction of artificial reef structures. Under the guidance of experienced Reef Rangers Omar and Hassan, our team — including the newest Reef Ranger trainees — has been working hard to build 80 new metal reef cages. These structures will later be deployed to our restoration site and serve as a stable foundation for outplanting coral colonies once weather conditions improve.

So far, we have already deployed 25 cages underwater, bringing us to a total of 105 artificial reef structures — meeting one of our key goals for the project! These cages will soon be home to hundreds of new coral colonies, each one helping to revive life on a degraded patch of reef.

Outplanting was delayed due to the coral bleaching event in 2024, but we are optimistic that with the cooler waters and the resilience of surviving coral colonies, the restoration work can resume soon. We are proud of the progress so far and especially of our local team, whose dedication continues to drive this project forward. Stay tuned for more updates as we move into the next phase of outplanting and monitoring.