• Neighbouring Communities
• Local Economy Stimulation
• Educational Support

Pacific Olive Ridley Turtle laying egg

Turtle Conservation Group of Malena in action

NEIGHBOURING COMMUNITIES

Palmilla is located in Mariato District between Malena and Palo Seco on the western coast of Azuero peninsula opposite Cébaco island. Palmilla is within the buffer zone surrounding Coiba Island World Heritage Site and the Gulf of Montijo RAMSAR wetland.

MALENA

The community of Malena protects their beach and the four species of turtles (Leatherback, Loggerhead, Pacific Olive Ridley and Green turtle) that lay their eggs on Malena beach from July to December.

Together with the local non governamental organisation Mar Viva (Living Sea) and Albatros Media we support the community with the conservation activities. Mar Viva has organized several workshops for members and their children to learn about turtles, nature conservation and tourism and Peace Corps placed a volunteer with the Malena association to help them achieve their goals. You can support the association directly. Send us an e-mail.

Because of all the natural beauty in the area, people are flocking to the western coast of Azuero and there is quite some land speculation going on. We try to help the association to buy the land that surrounds communal resources such as the source for drinking water and a waterfall that is used as a safe swimming place for children. The association should soon apply for a concession of Malena beach, which will enable them to benefit directly from the natural resources that belong to their community. Together with the association’s members we encourage the local fishermen to use nets with larger mesh size and to refrain from fishing for prawns and spiny lobsters during the breeding season in order to improve the sustainability of local fisheries. We shall help them to set up a monitoring system of the catches. Note that many of the group members are fisher folk!

Peace corps volunteers have been with the Malena community about 4 years. Peace corps supports various community initiatives and at the moment there are 4 volunteers on the western coast of Azuero (and 20 in total in Veraguas). Some of these also work with nature conservation and tourism and others help set up local businesses. We are willing to support their activities for the better outcome in the communities.

FLORES

Flores is a hamlet on the edge of Cerro Hoya National Park and a small conservation group was formed there. They have had some support from MIDA to start the breeding of pacas and peccaries. The individual members know their way around in the Cerro Hoya mountains and know where the painted parakeet, great green macaws, spider monkeys and howler monkeys can be found. They also know a lot about medicinal use of plants.

Our guide in Flores would like to build some ranchos for tourists but so far lacks the investment money. If you go there with us and we camp there, the family can slowly build up some capital! There is also a Peace Corps volunteer based in Flores.

GOBERNADORA

On Gobernadora island a community group has built a small open restaurant, la Orquidia. They had support of a Peace Corps volunteer and some are learning English! Others on the island had support from ANCON Expeditions and there is a little campsite. A visit to the island and meals taken in the restaurant help to support the group. If you speak Spanish you can phone them and ask them to pick you up.

The above groups have only occasionally been exposed to an adventurous tourist. Unfortunately most do not speak English. If you nevertheless would like to meet them and talk to them, Tanager Tourism makes it possible.

PALO SECO

The Palo Seco community would also like to have some benefit of Tourism in Mariato district and we are willing to explore the possibilities with them. Their best attraction is the Mangrove Forest to the north but there are no paths yet there for tourists so there is still some work to do.

EDUCATIONAL COLLABORATION

Children are the future and the Malena Group has requested us to assist the local primary school with special Biology lessons. We are now in the preparatory phase of this and are certainly willing to provide information on nature for children, as well as equipment for sports or inputs for special celebration days such as tree planting day (19 May) and Children’s day (1 June).

We also would like to build on our relations with the secondary school in Mariato as well as with the Universities in Santiago. At the moment a student from there is writing a paper about our project. We also have a student from the Tourism Institute from Breda in the Netherlands who helps us with the marketing. Our soil samples and topography data have been added to the Santiago University’s data base. We are willing to work with students and stagiaires of several universities and can provide guidance for a fee.

We are fond of the Summit Municipal Park and are linked to a group that would like to improve the conditions of animals in captivity.

¨LOCAL ECONOMY STIMULATION¨

We are recycling and intent to stimulate the neighbouring communities to also recycle their non-organic valuable waste like glass, cans, iron and separate the very toxic waste. We hope to turn some of this recycling into small income generating activities!

Not only do we impact less on the environment by buying and supplying local foods, we thus stimulate the local economy and support the local livelihoods. Our white cheese comes from a neighboring farmer!

Soon we hope to add a ‘food production tour’, for you to see how the white cheese is made, how the coffee grows and is processed, and even how chocolate is made from the cacao beans.

For the moment we have recruited all our occasional labourers in the region and also our permanent staff (one so far in 2008) is from Palmilla in order to support the local community and to further gain their support. We intend to train staff to enhance their capacity, pay fair salaries and register all our staff with the social service of Panama.