Organization Name: EcoSwell
Contact: sohyunlee2024@u.northwestern.edu
Website: www.ecoswell.org
Tell Us About Your Organization
EcoSwell is a surfing-inspired sustainable development non-profit (NGO) based in Lobitos, Peru. We believe that people and nature can thrive in unison. Through infrastructure projects, educational, environmental and socioeconomic initiatives, we guide the development of vulnerable communities in Peru through a path of sustainability. Working with local communities, international volunteers/interns, the private, public and academic sectors, we implement relevant and lasting solutions. In basic terms, we improve people’s lives and help protect our natural environment.
Location
We currently operate in Lobitos, a Peruvian coastal northern town and surfing hotspot, which has increased uncontrolled tourism over the last 15 years. As a result of the town’s lack of infrastructure, lack of communication between stakeholders and lack of integrated development programs, this tourism is giving rise to various environmental, social and economic risks to the town’s long-term sustainability and wellbeing.
Lobitos is a small town of approximately 1,650 people. About 27% of the population live in poverty, and 14% live in extreme poverty (have less than 90 cents a day for all their needs).
Vision and long term objective
The issues that we at EcoSwell see in Lobitos are not exclusive to the town or the north of Peru. They are global issues that are impacting various communities around the world. As such, by 2021, our vision is to make Lobitos a success story of coastal sustainability, where a respectful tourism industry can co-exist with the local community and the industries found within Lobitos. The organization’s long-term objective is to develop a sustainability framework applicable to other Peruvian coastal communities.
Who We Are
We believe that diversity breeds change, a positive one at that. EcoSwell is a network of young professionals from various professional disciplines: from environmentalists to social scientists, engineers, lawyers, economists, athletes, language specialists, and others. We believe that only through the broad perspectives all these different professions bring to the table is the concept of sustainability attainable in the real world. We share and learn from each other and apply our expertise to relevant, realistic and applicable solutions that help drive sustainability and improve the lives of our beneficiaries. We have a team based in Lobitos permanently and a team based in the UK who provide technical and financial resources to our team on the ground. Our contributors and members are based all over the world.
EcoSwell’s story – It all started with friendships and a surf trip. Four lifelong friends (our co-founders) travelled along the Peruvian coast in search of waves. One of the locations they went to was the off the beaten track town of Lobitos. While there, they caught some of the best waves of their lives, met some of the kindest people imaginable and were exposed to breath-taking natural beauty and wildlife. Jacques Cousteau once said: “people conserve what they love,” and the group of friends had fallen for Lobitos. Seeing the environmental and social constraints the town was enduring, contrasting with the natural beauty of the locality, made them realize that Lobitos’ essence would not be a lasting one if nothing were done. EcoSwell is the manifestation of this call to action.
Since then, the EcoSwell family has grown from 4 members to nearly 25 from various nationalities, expanding beyond Lobitos to other surrounding towns.
How can people help/volunteer with you?
EcoSwell organizes our volunteer internship program, both online and in-person. EcoSwell’s volunteer internship program aims to drive the creation and implementation of our sustainability projects while transforming our volunteer interns into agents of change.
We offer placements in various fields, including the following: NGO Management, Water Sanitation, Renewable Energy, Research, Reforestation Conservation, Marketing & Communications, and Medical & Dentistry (in-person only).
Volunteer interns will be given ownership of the projects, directly co-managing our sustainable energy initiatives. The daily activities will vary depending on the progress and stage we are at each project, but may include designing and implementing projects, leading the research regarding relevant solutions to local problems, budgeting, carrying out crowdfunding campaigns, and promoting sustainable development initiatives.”
What makes you the most proud about your organization?
We are most proud of what our impact has been on the community of Lobitos. As a semi-rural community, Lobitos has suffered from regular blackouts, power cuts, and a lack of resources. Moreover, energy costs have historically been the highest monthly expense of families struggling to get out of poverty. EcoSwell’s renewable energy projects have worked to combat these issues by providing sustainably sourced energy accessible to the more disadvantaged groups within the community. We installed a 2500W solar panel system at the artisanal Fisherman’s Guild Community Hall in 2016 to harness energy from the year-round desert sunshine, thus reducing their operating costs and generating significant income for their organization. We have also constructed a solar distiller to desalinate seawater and provide clean water for the local community. Lobitos is located in an arid desert landscape. Therefore, clean water is not readily available naturally, and the supply of clean water from the nearby city of Talara fluctuates. We hope to expand this project to more units to provide reliable, clean water for even more people in the community.
We are also proud of our reforestation project “Lobitos Verde,” which was one of our first initiatives with the community of Lobitos. We have been planting native seedlings with local women and their families to green the neighbourhoods of Lobitos. We are also doing this in the town of Piedritas through our “Piedritas Verde” initiative. Not only has this empowered the women as leaders of the project, but it has also raised awareness of environmental issues. It has encouraged people to reuse and save water using permaculture techniques while increasing the extent of habitat for native bird species in danger of extinction. Working with over 90 families, we have planted and are currently caring for thousands of seedlings in Lobitos and Piedritas. Over the past few years, this project has branched out into community-led ecotourism, local ecosystem restoration, environmental education campaigns, and endangered and endemic bird and wildlife conservation initiatives, receiving support from various international entities.
We are currently working to extend our impact to the broader community and expand our focus areas to address various local issues. We need hard-working, passionate interns who would be willing to help us in our sustainable development initiative.”