Ecuador Eco Volunteer

Archive for the ‘Coastline Regeneration’ Category

Here is the final testimonial by Matt Jeffries on his 9 weeks at 3 volunteer programs in Ecuador, this time on one of Ecuadors many beautiful beaches in the north of the nation while helping to reforest Ecuadors endangered mangrove ecosystems.

We arrived on this island on the Ecuadorian coast not quite knowing what to expect and as soon as we arrived it was clear there was a relaxed atmosphere, interesting surroundings and many surprises ahead.

Upon arrival in Fundecol’s office we were explained the purpose of the organization and the huge amount of paperwork involving laws required for administrators while the volunteers get their hands dirty helping out with the reforestation of mangroves.

We did a variety of tasks, occasionally visiting the mangroves whereby wellies / gumboots were needed as you were up to your knees in thick mud, but a great atmosphere as the group planted seeds to regenerate the area and support future marine life, before taking a refreshing boat ride back to the island.

We also took part in a ‘Minga’ basically a project where the community got together and in this case we picked up litter and built structures so that when people use bin-bags and put them out, it meant that they didn’t get washed away as they could place them on the structures.

There was a real buzz about this particular project and it felt refreshing that the structures were outside our house so we could see that we were making a change. Finally there was a lot of cocoa plantation, we planted seeds in the soil bags, delivered 1000′s to various houses and communities around the area and in one particular community we helped out planting the cocoa plants and building structures around them to protect them from things such as animals and children, once again building and protecting for the future of these communities.

All of this with a nearby beautiful beach where you could pop along with any spare time and have a drink or play football against the locals or even go for a swim (watch out for little jellyfish, nothing too lethal just small stings). There was also various batido huts who produced fresh batido’s from fresh fruit on the island, with sammy’s hut producing particularly tasty well made batido’s and him singing a bit of bob marley was a sound to behold also.

There is something about this island that draws you in, the people are very friendly, the beach is beautiful and everywhere you look people are being creative, for example the children making kites out of a plastic bag, some reed canes and a roll of string. An amazing experience and highly recommendable.

Here are some photos of Daniel and his girlfriend Holly while they were volunteering on our coastline regeneration project on the Ecuadorian coast in Esmeraldas. The couple are Biology and Veterinary Science students from England and decided to spend a month working on this incredibly important conservation project that we run in conjuction with FUNDECOL, an NGO based in Esmeraldas whose sole aim is to help prevent the destruction of Ecuadors endangered mangrove rainforest.

This project is probably one of the most important and pressing programs we run at Ecuador Eco Volunteer because over 90% of Ecuadors Mangrove Ecosystem has already been destroyed to make way for illegal shrimp farms. Mangroves are a breeding ground for fish, crabs, oysters, and migratory birds and the destruction of this natural resource has already pushed some species to the brink of extinction and devastated the entire food chain. For more information or to find out how you can get involved check out the coastline regeneration project page!

And now for the photos:)