The 2013 Project Visit to Ecuador was rich and
multi-faceted. It provided our volunteer visitors profound experiences,
insights, and inspiration. One theme
that stood out for me, common to all three projects we visited, was that of
social capital-- one of the five components of Heifer’s newly developed theory
of change. Pierre Ferrari, Heifer president and CEO, writes that the World Bank defines
social capital as ‘institutions, relationships, and norms that shape the
quality and quantity of a society's social interactions.’ Through the
impact of social capital, Heifer project participants are able
to have sustainable development and prosper economically. I’d like to
share my experiences that exemplify this idea with reference to The Artisanal
Fishing Project, the first stop on our tour.
(Italicized items reference
components of social capital.)
For generations, thousands of
families in and around Puerto Bolivar, a town located on the Pacific Coast near
Machala, Ecuador, have derived their sustenance and livelihood from fishing the
waters of this beautiful port surrounded and protected by mangroves. In modern times, their way of life has become
more difficult in several ways. For one,
the resource poor fishermen require loans to outfit themselves for fishing. But
they can only qualify for loans at high interest from lenders, who act as
predatory middlemen, that require the fishermen to sell their catch to them at
lower than wholesale prices. For
another, large-scale fishing corporations, whose boats are supposed to remain
eight miles off shore, routinely encroach on the supposedly protected artisanal
fishing grounds, causing a decline in the fishery. If that weren’t enough, the small scale
fishermen even have to deal with incidences of piracy.
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| Ecuadorian artisanal fishermen cast nets with high hopes for sustaining their way of life. |
Heifer is supporting the
development of collaboratives of
fishermen and their families to encourage collective
action along with fairness and equality
of access for the resources they have traditionally depended on for food
security and income. We learned of an
ingenious approach whereby Heifer has provided seed money administered by the
local Movimiento de Mujeres de El Oro, to support the empowerment and social inclusion of women in the
community as full participants in the Artisanal Fishing Collaboratives. These
women-- wives, mothers and daughters of the fishermen-- have chosen to use
grant funds to provide low interest loans to fishermen within the organization
to purchase needed equipment and supplies. Provision and repayment of these
loans is a seen as a viable expression of the Heifer cornerstone value of passing on the gift. As loans are
repaid, additional fishermen can access resources and new members can enter the
collaborative and, in the long run, new collaboratives can be formed.
The collective has also chosen to
use funds to construct a pier and adjoining meeting facility. The overarching
goal is to promote community organization
and solidarity in working to
achieve direct access to the market and fair prices for the catch with the
eventual elimination of the middlemen. Objectives to reach this goal include fostering
a collective voice to influence local government, holding commercial interests
accountable to the letter of the law, and promoting the health of the fishery
and mangrove forest.
Our experience with the fishermen
was definitely hands on; in fact it was 'all hands on deck.' The Heifer volunteers joined two-man crews on
their small boats for a day of fishing.
In between casting and placement of the 1,000 meter nets and hauling in
the catch (given a bit of good luck), our crew, Hector and Umberto, told us
about decreased catches, piracy, concern for the health of the mangroves with
their importance to the ecosystem and expressed antipathy for the middlemen
with colorful adjectives. In spite of these challenges, the men had high hopes from
their participation in the collaborative.
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| Celebrating the gift of life one fish at a time. |
Following our day of fishing, the
community hosted a celebration complete with delicious food and dancing, which
was preceded by formal expressions of gratitude and dedication to a vision for
a brighter future. Marlena Flores, a primary organizer of this event, made an
eloquent speech that touched me deeply. She said that before her involvement in
the collaborative she was treated more like a maid rather than a wife and a
woman with a say in her life, and that was how she saw herself. Now, after two
years with the collaborative, she sees herself and is seen as a valued member
of her family and community and knows that her efforts can make a difference in
fostering and sustaining healthier, happier lives for all.
“Social Capital” is an abstract
concept, but essentially, it references a collective vision, along with new
beliefs and ways of thinking and acting that make change possible. Combine that with solutions, systems and
structures created through interdependence and synergy, add ongoing support from
Heifer’s 12 cornerstone-based training and education, and you have a recipe for
an improved standard of living within stronger and more vibrant communities. – John Brewer
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