Describe a typical day at work.
At EcoSwell, there rarely are typical days at work, but all of them give me something to smile about. As a Director I live half of my days on the ground in Lobitos working with volunteer interns and the community, and the other half in our office in Lima managing our marketing and public relations activities.
In Lobitos, a typical day would be: me waking up at 6:00 a.m. to go for a morning surf session (oftentimes with volunteers or interns), and getting back around 8:00 a.m. to make a nice healthy breakfast. Around 9:00 a.m. I start the day with a morning planning meeting and then off to work. Some mornings we are meeting with community members to speak about progress of projects, in the city sourcing materials, doing surveys with tourists, other project tasks, or doing office work at the EcoHouse.
From 1:30 - 2.30 p.m. we have a healthy vegetarian/vegan lunch and then back to work until 5:00 or 6:00 p.m. If there is still light, I try to go for another surf session before dark. Then back home for some reading or music with the current group in the house and finally a nice early sleep. Healthy, inspiring, and rewarding. Love it!
We had just finished building the wooden fence to protect the newly planted Palo Negro seedlings a the local elementary school in Piedritas.
Why do you do what you do?
I love it. It inspires me every day I wake up. Being able to work alongside lovely communities to empower them and guide them towards a more sustainable lifestyle and better quality of life is truly a blessing. To be able to do this next to three of my childhood friends and inspiring young leaders from all over the world makes it impossible to see myself doing anything else. I am excited to see what and who the future brings our way!
What challenges do you often face and how do you overcome them?
Challenges are an every day occurrence in international development work. We encounter challenges with projects, the community, the local government, our sponsors and partners, our volunteer interns, administrative issues, personal issues, etc. Running an organization that is engaged with so many stakeholders on a local and global level is a daunting task with all sorts of obstacles that must be overcome.
For example, on a local level we sometimes have challenges with the sourcing of good local hired labor. Oftentimes laborers commit to a job but half way through go missing, do not deliver accordingly, or find jobs elsewhere, and in addition, do not have working phone numbers to be reached at. This has an effect on the timeline of our projects, and delays cause other activities to delay, resulting in a chain of effects and challenges to be solved.
If something like this occurs, we stay calm and try our best to resolve the situation with our team and other affected people. Usually if you work together and communicate well with others, everything has a solution. Moreover, with time we have learned to take precautions to avoid delays by only working with trusted laborers, planning project timelines with ample time to account for setbacks, and having alternative options in case one falters.
Another big challenge that we constantly face is the battle to restore and conserve the Equatorial Dry Forest ecosystem of northern Peru. This forest has been degraded by over 90% and has numerous serious threats to its survival, like illegal logging, climate change, and various plagues.
We are working on a series of measures to battle these challenges, from: Research on some of the threats and possible solutions, working with communities engaged in illegal logging to find new alternative employment opportunities, reforestation of native species and creation of conservation areas, educational workshops with children and adults to reinforce the importance of this ecosystem and the livelihoods of those who inhabit them, among many other activities. Many of these we do with other local partners that are also passionate about saving the Dry Forest and helping improve the lives of those within it.
These are just two of many many challenges we face on a daily basis as an organisation. I feel that the best way to overcome any challenge is to stay calm and positive, be true to your values, communicate and collaborate with others, and have the confidence that it will all work out in the end. Challenges are part of life and we have to be aware that they are here to teach us a lesson and make us stronger.
All four Co-Founders and Directors of EcoSwell. We have all been friends since we were 10-years-old and are now following our passion together.
What advice would you tell your pre-travel self?
Travelling is a beautiful part of life. Experiencing different cultures and landscapes makes you appreciate the world and all the people in it much more. I always tell my pre-travel self to be positive, keep an open mind, and truly soak in every second of the experience I am about to have.
I feel that advice is extremely relevant when you are travelling to volunteer and work with communities in foreign countries. You have to be aware that you are going to enter a reality very different to your own, with different traditions and ways of thinking, many of which you might not agree with or understand. Keeping an open mind and not judging these differences, but instead appreciating them, will allow you to enjoy a rewarding experience and learn life lessons you never thought possible.
Finally, another piece of advice I would tell my pre-travel self would be to replace "I have to" with "I get to" in every situation I encounter. If the task is planting trees with members of the community, I would not say "I have to plant trees", but rather "I get to plant trees". This makes you value the experience you are about to have and realize that you are blessed to even have the opportunity to do it, as countless other people in the world don't.
Why should someone choose EcoSwell over competitors?
I believe that what differentiates us from our competitors is the passion we have for our work, the values that drive our every decision, and the strength of our friendship with the communities we work in. EcoSwell was co-founded by four friends from elementary school (over 22 years of friendship!) who have a relentless passion for contributing to a more sustainable and inclusive future, in Peru and the world. This passion and friendship, coupled with their strong set of values, is evident in every aspect of EcoSwell's work and culture. With us you can feel from day one that you are a part of something truly special.
What hopes do you have for the future for your organization?
We have very high hopes for the future of EcoSwell. We are constantly growing in size and impact and we continue to welcome talented and inspirational young leaders from all over the world to join us in this journey. We hope that we can successfully guide the communities of Lobitos and Piedritas to a more sustainable, inclusive, and prosperous future, and later replicate this same model in other coastal communities in need.
April 2016—We finally installed the photo voltaic system in the Community Hall of the Artisanal Fishermen Guild. This was the first renewable energy project we had implemented.
What makes your organization easy to market to potential participants?
The aspect that makes us easy to market to potential participants is that we are true to our strong set of values and our organization’s mission, and we prove it every day. Nowadays, participants can see straight through fake intentions. At EcoSwell, we practice what we preach and we welcome participants to come work as part of our passionate and committed team to learn this for themselves. Honestly, truth and kindness are the best marketing.
What do you hope participants take away from your programs?
We hope that they take away a life-changing experience and many lessons in humility, hard work, and dedication to a cause greater than ourselves. We show and let our participants join in on the reality of international development, exposing them to real life challenges and helping them overcome them. We want participants to feel they have truly made a positive impact in the lives of thousands of families in northern Peru and the planet.
How do you help support participants?
We help support participants before, during, and after their stay with us. When participants apply to our program we are very quick to answer any questions or doubts, we work with them to define the best dates for their visit, and also give fundraising guidance to help cover their financial contribution. We also assist them with any travel and pre-departure needs. Once they are in Lobitos/Piedritas with us, we have a team of two directors and hired staff constantly available and supporting the participants during each step of their placement.
When they arrive, we do a complete planning of their time with us, including the work they will be involved in and what is expected of them. Throughout the placement we constantly guide them through any community engagement and technical questions and issues they might have. Finally, once they leave we help participants with any university or employment referrals they might need and try to use our network to help benefit their future careers. We always want the best for all members of the EcoFamily.
Our Summer 2019 interns and staff in a beautiful group photo under the Algarrobo tree in our front garden.
Why is it important for people to travel abroad and experience new cultures?
For perspective and gratitude. Travelling allows us to realize that there are other ways of thinking and living around the world, which makes us be more mindful of what we are thinking and the way we are living. It puts life into perspective. This is key to being a more respectful and open-minded person, and for appreciating everything we have in our lives. Travelling also teaches us gratitude—being grateful for being alive and healthy enough to enjoy beautiful landscapes or connect with wonderful people and explore new places. This is something that many people in the world are not fortunate enough to be able to experience, so don't take it for granted and make the best of it.
What qualities in program & host community relations are important to you? (And your organization?)
At EcoSwell we are most proud of the close relationships and friendships that we have been able to establish in the communities where we work. I believe that it is essential that the organization that works within a community goes beyond simply providing support, but truly becomes part of the community and feels the personal motivation to contribute positively to improve the lives of the people. I think honesty, transparency, open-mindedness and willingness to listen are all very important qualities in the relationship between a program and host community. Sustainable development is a team effort, where both the organization and the community both teach and learn from each other.
What does meaningful travel mean to you?
Meaningful travel means travelling with a purpose that goes beyond one’s own personal benefit. It means being mindful of the people and places you visit and actively trying to leave them better than you found them.
