Meet the Maker: Project PARGO
New to A&C, Project PARGO is a brand with heart, purpose, and really great drinkware. Designed in Australia and made to last, their premium insulated cups and bottles are all about keeping your drinks at the perfect temp - no metallic taste, no fuss, just clean sipping wherever you go.
But what we love most is 5% of every sale goes towards funding clean water projects in remote communities and to date they have helped over 55,000 people gain access to clean water.
In this journal we chat with founders Dylan & Ellie about all things Project PARGO. The important work they are doing, design, daily rituals and how it all started.
What sparked the idea for Project PARGO?
Before PARGO we travelled for almost 3 years in some incredibly remote communities around the world chasing waves and good times.
Almost every place we visited from Asia to Central America had contaminated tap water that was unsafe to drink. The bottled water in most places was also far too expensive for the locals to afford leading them to drinking the contaminated water.
The name PARGO has a great ring to it—what’s the story behind it?
PARGO is the Spanish Translation for the fish - Red Snapper! We had come up with the idea of designing a premium range of Insulated Reusable Bottles and Cups that with every purchase would help people gain access to clean water by implementing filters to communities in need.
When coming up with the name we were in Mexico with our friends and now PARGO Ambassadors Al Cleland and Rolando Stanley and the name PARGO was thrown out from one of the guys. The connection to clean water and PARGO for us goes back to a time in El Salvadore when I was invited to go spearfishing with the locals – I speared a big PARGO and we ate it with the village – Nobody was drinking water and we asked our friend why and he told us – it's because drinking the water here makes us sick so we try not to drink too much, and sometimes we have a coconut. It was yet another time where clean water wasn't available and we knew the name PARGO had a good ring to it!
You donate 5% of all sales to clean water projects, tell us about these projects and the communities you have helped?
We take 5% of revenue not Profit so as the business grows our clean water giving grows with it. We put it at the top of the list! Every sale does really go directly to helping people.
The projects are an amazing experence for us as a brand and the communities we help – Clean water really doesn't have a language barrier.
We have just completed our 19th clean water project in Fiji.
So far, we have helped villages in Lombok & Sumbawa Indonesia, a number of communities in The Philippines, Fiji and Uganda.
What does a “typical” day look like for you (if such a thing exists)?
Ideally up for an early surf before the wind is up, then into the office - we have just built a new office and warehouse on the Sunshine Coast, so it's been a new challenge moving from a full remote team with 3pl dispatch to warehousing and dispatching all our orders in house! We are really excited for this new chapter. Every day is a new adventure at the moment which has been super exciting!
What are your tips for living more thoughtfully—whether at home, work, or on the go?
Choosing products that support the planet and your health. Prioritising high quality items that will last which helps reduce the amount of unnecessary waste we have in our world these days.
We love all your awesome hacks you have posted about on social and on your blog, tell us about your wildest hack using a PARGO product?
The boiled egg and cocktail shaker were genius. We love a hack! Hot dogs in the bottle at the Rugby to save on time and money has been a fav amongst the team – We also tested making a Vietnamese Pho that was so good!
Quickfire round:
Fave Pargo Product – 1890ml Sports bottle is my go-to for all day hydration! Or the Stubby Holder
Coffee or tea – Coffee for me
Beach or bush – Beach!
Early bird or night owl – Early Birds get the worm
Favourite way to unwind – The more you do the easy it is to relax! Love the feeling after surfing your brains out all day!