Establish low impact eco-tourism enterprises as an income generator and to promote

45 Priorities for Next Quarter January 1 – March 31, 2006 The priority activities for the third trimester are: i Continue to monitor and document chame development including: production economics, variations in price during the year, various culture methods such as stocking in wetlands and polyculture with shrimp i Research and document marketing channels for chame i Support Yin and two others in internship at beekeeping facility and visit other honey projects to strengthen Yin and others’ technical capacity in honey production and processing i Award small grants to women and others who successfully complete beekeeping training to establish hives with bees contributed by Mr. Yin i Conduct follow-up assessment of Year 2 gardening efforts to determine if further efforts warranted i Prepare gardens in at least two communities with the medicinal plants i Publish on web the register of medicinal plants i Map newly formed islands and define legal status of these islands to determine if communities can use islands for tourism i Form local group to work on development of ecotourism options i Identify and describe nature trails i Develop passion fruit and cacao cultivation areas and monitor results i Support two visits by agriculture specialist to teach and monitor use of organic cultivation methods i Support two visits by agriculture specialist to teach and monitor use of soil conservation practices i Conduct ICM workshop to kick-off natural resources initiatives and present alternative management practices; complete biodiversity threats assessment i Visit of URI team to complete governance case study for the shrimp industry i Conduct initial workshop for shrimp farmers on good management practices i Conduct study on pesticides effects on bivalves in estuary i Conduct analysis of samples i Conduct water sampling in Cojimies Estuary, begin data analysis and draft preliminary report 46 A SUCCESS Ecuador Story “EcoClub of Chamanga High School Achievements” In April 15, 2005, Alfredo Plaza, a graduate in forestry from the Technical University Luis Vargas Torres in Esmeraldas, arrived to work as a teacher at the Agricultural High School of Chamanga. He made contact with the EcoCostas Program office in Chamanga with the idea of forming an EcoClub at the school. This club now has twenty student members 5 males and 15 females and focuses on conservation and development. The club is called the Guayacanes—taking its name from the beautiful, flowering Golden Trumpet tree. The first activity was to organize a clean-up campaign for the town in coordination with the Parish Committee. The clean-up took place every 15 days for the following three months. The second activity was to start a very small garden at the school with medicinal plants and vegetables. The group enthusiastically planted tomatoes and peppers, made a small nursery for ornamental plants and forest trees, and learned to grow broiler chickens. The garden measures 16 x 20 meters, and cost US 13 to plant with pepper and tomato seeds. The harvest was abundant and the club harvested 20 sacks of peppers— distributing five sacks locally and selling 15 sacks for US 155. The club also harvested 35 sacks of tomatoes—distributing 15 sacks locally and selling 15 for US 132.50. With the profits from these harvests, the club bought broiler chicks, feed, vaccines and vitamins. Their production costs for the chickens was US 511.50. They sold 197 chickens each weighing approximately 5.5 pounds each for 0.90 per pound for total sales revenues of US 995.15. The chickens were distributed or sold in Chamanga to stores, restaurants and at the college snack bar. Not only was this a good learning experience for the students, it also served to demonstrate to the community that with few resources and a little land, a significant income could be produced through gardening and chicken-rearing. The vegetables and chickens also provided local residents with some healthy, locally produced food.