CHURAMURA began on a fateful day in 2020 when the founders came across a “crawl” (footprints of a mother turtle during laying) on their local beach in Yomitan. We had a simple mission: to protect the 100 or so eggs in the nest, giving them the best chance of survival to make it to the water after hatching. 

What started as a few locals monitoring the nest, doing morning and nightly patrols quickly grew into a trusted, island-wide effort. Today, sea turtle protection remains our founding and flagship program — and the foundation from which our broader coastal conservation work continues to grow.