Li Lé is a small island in the Raja Ampat archipelago. We named the brand after it. This page is about why — and what we do because of it.
PHOTOGRAPHY: OLGA · CORAL TRIANGLE
The reef that
named us.
- BLUE OCEAN STORIES · RAJA AMPAT, INDONESIA
- WHAT WE DO
5% of profits from every
Hair Oil sale goes to
marine conservation in Raja Ampat.
Not a rounding-up at checkout. Not a once-a-year gesture. Every time a bottle of Watersports Hair Oil is sold, 5% of the profit goes directly to conservation work in the waters where Li Lé Blue began.
We do this because we want to. The formula was designed so it would never harm the reef. The donation is the next step of the same commitment — making sure the reef itself survives to be dived, sailed, and snorkelled by the next generation of water people.
We are not partners, sponsors, or affiliates of the Misool Foundation. We simply donate when we sell — because the work they do in Raja Ampat is exactly where we believe this money belongs.
- WHY RAJA AMPAT
The most biodiverse
reef system on Earth.
Raja Ampat sits at the intersection of the Indian and Pacific Oceans, in the heart of the Coral Triangle — the region that scientists call the Amazon of the Seas. Marine surveys here have recorded more than 1,600 species of reef fish and approximately 75% of all coral species known to science. There is no reef system on the planet with a higher recorded biodiversity.
The powerful deep-sea currents that converge here funnel nutrients into the fringing reefs surrounding every island — including Li Lé. The same currents that make Raja Ampat extraordinary for divers are what make it irreplaceable for the ocean. If these reefs are lost, science has no comparable baseline left to study.
It is also fragile. Illegal fishing, blast fishing, and climate-driven bleaching are real and ongoing threats. The protection happening in Raja Ampat right now is not preservation of something stable — it is active defence of something under pressure.
- THE MISOOL FOUNDATION
Built on the site of a
former shark finning camp.
In the 1990s, the waters around Misool — the southernmost major island of Raja Ampat — were being systematically destroyed. Blast fishing, shark finning, and destructive netting were tearing through some of the most biodiverse reefs on Earth. By 2005, local communities had had enough.
That year, a partnership between those communities and two dive instructors — Marit and Andrew Miners — created the Misool Marine Reserve: 300,000 acres of protected ocean, initially leased directly from the communities who had fished it for generations. The no-take zones were enforced by a ranger patrol of local people, 24 hours a day, using dedicated patrol boats and aerial surveillance. The reserve was built on the exact site of a former shark finning operation.
The results are not anecdotal. Fish biomass has increased by 248% since monitoring began. The local manta ray population has doubled over a decade. In 2022 alone, protection of sea turtle nests resulted in 580 Hawksbill and Green Turtle hatchlings reaching the ocean. The reserve now holds a Platinum-level Blue Park designation — the highest international standard for marine protected area management.
The Misool Foundation manages this work — ranger patrols, community programmes, environmental education, recycling infrastructure, and species monitoring. This is where our donations go.
A NOTE ON OUR RELATIONSHIP
We have no formal partnership, sponsorship agreement, or affiliation with the Misool Foundation. They do not endorse Li Lé Blue. We donate because we trust the work they do — independently, and because we want to. If you want to donate directly, or learn more about their programmes, their website is the right place to start.
- IN OLGA'S WORDS
"I have been diving for over twenty years. I have seen reefs that were extraordinary — and I have seen what happens when they are not protected. The difference is not subtle. A healthy reef is loud and chaotic and overwhelming in the best possible way. A damaged reef is quiet in a way that stays with you.
Raja Ampat is the loudest reef I have ever dived. I want it to stay that way."
OLGA · CO-FOUNDER · PADI DIVE INSTRUCTOR · LI LÉ BLUE