ABOUT AYANGUE
Ayangue is a small fishing village in the province of Santa Elena, located between Playa Rosada and San Pedro, in Ecuador. It is one of the most visited spas by the community of divers and freedivers in that country due to its proximity to the most important diving spots on the Spondylus Route. It differs from all other beaches due to its geographical conditions that give it clear, warm and calm waters. For this reason, it was named “The Pool of the Pacific.” Its climate is characterized by being dry, where its annual temperature is 25 degrees Celsius. Among the things that stand out on the beach are whale watching, underwater exploration, diving, apnea or snorkeling, artisanal fishing and making handicrafts with elements that are extracted directly from the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Its climatic and geographical conditions have led this province to focus on tourism development, however, the growing number of tourists has had a strong impact on Ayangue, these being a large increase in the amount of solid waste both in its streets and its coasts, the excessive use of natural resources and the loss of ecosystems.
Our local BlueCommunities partner is AMIGUITOS DEL OCÉANO. It is an NGO that is dedicated to environmental education, specifically ocean and community projects.
LOCAL GOALS
UNITED NATIONS SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
LOCAL PARTNER
AMIGUITOS DEL OCÉANO is a nonprofit organization, who wants to reduce and prevent the ocean pollution by plastics through the generation of oceanic culture, encouraging people to change practices and habits to help the conservation of ecosystems, to the biodiversity and human health.
Our Foundation aims to:
- To emotionally connect children and adults with the sea, to understand the goods and services of the ocean.
- To sensitize and educate the public about the problems and consequences of the mismanagement of solid waste and debris present in terrestrial and marine ecosystems.
- Encourage the change of habits in the population to reduce the use of disposable plastics
- Encourage good practices and responsible consumption.
Environmental Education Program
This program is executed free of charge in public schools in coastal communities, in the following 3 phases:
1) Sensibilization and awareness: It is a talk & audio visual tool that shows what is happening in the sea and marine species due to plastics in the sea, concluding with specific guidelines: what can I do as a child. They work with children, young people, teachers and parents.
2) Let’s get to work: It is a beach cleaning with students, parents and teachers, so that there is a personal experience on the topics we saw in class. Garbage is collected, classified and a top 5 is generated per site, so that students can analyze the problem quantitatively and qualitatively.
3) Ecomural: Finally, a mural is made with the collaboration of volunteers, to leave a reminder through an artistic space of the experience lived during the Program, in addition to leaving a clear message about the reality of the sea and the impact of the garbage that seeks to call people to action.
Sustainable communities in Ayangue
“Oceanic Literacy for sustainable communities”, which has three components: 1) Ocean Education 2) Eco entrepeneurship 3) Sustainable Tourism This experience seeks to generate oceanic culture through local education, to understand the environment and correct way to fishing, tourism and solid waste management at the community level.