Eco-Ecuador
Collaboration for a Long-Term Sustainable City
Report #1 from Bahia de Caraquez, Ecuador Ciudad Ecologica (Ecological City) activities are at the highest point since the city declaration two years ago. I don’t believe just one person any longer knows everything that’s going on here, so I’ll only update some of what is interfacing with Planet Drum’s projects. Amy Jewel, volunteer recycling planner from New York, and I have taken separate rooms […]
(Rio Chone Border From Astillero to Kilometro Ocho — Excepting El Toro Watershed) The area of Bahia de Caraquez that borders Rio Chone from Astillero to Kilometro Ocho is backed by a long series of eroded hillsides that drain into the river and bay. The principal erosion was initiated by deforestation and grazing over decades, but recently made massive by El Nino mud slides and […]
Only 48 hours until I have to kiss this beautiful city goodbye. Trying to tie up loose ends and enjoy my last moments. A crazy week, super full, as they say around here. Planned a minga (barrio clean-up), a mural with an ecological theme, and the inauguration of the Bosque en las Ruinas park. The minga was a success last weekend; 12 kids from one […]
Planet Drum Foundation held a reception and presentation about Bahia de Caraquez titled “Ecuador’s Ecological City” in San Francisco on December 8, 2000. The site was Fort Mason’s cozy renovated Firehouse, where refreshments were served and a raffle was held to raise funds. Asmara Pelupessy, PDF’s administrative assistant and membership manager, welcomed everyone and Tamara Ribas, volunteer angel, acknowledged that food and raffle donations were […]
Roosters crowing, a dog barking in the distance, tropical birds chirping overhead, it’s a quiet morning in Bahia de Caraquez. Good day to go up ‘killer hill’ (as Tony and I have fondly named the climb up to the new park site in Maria Auxiliadora), and move dirt. Exciting to see progress on the paths that are being cleared and widened to provide access to […]
When we started the planting project in Maria Auxiliadora, it was clear that this could be a testing ground for ideas about recovering eroded land with major potential locally if not throughout coastal Ecuador. Here are some of the factors that make work on only a few hectares of earth so significant. To start with, it consists of either denuded small cliffs or piled up […]
Each trip to Bahia de Caraquez starts with ideas about what will happen that become transformed in profound ways before the visit is over. Two mutations in plans have occurred so far this time. Our revegetation project has morphed into a proposed city park, and what began as a tentative outline for an overall ecological city plan has become an action document. Vicente Leon of […]
Bahia de Caraquez is a small city but its regional importance magnifies its size. How small depends on the particular perspective that a question might require. How many people? Twelve thousand or three times that depending on who is answering and why the number is important. (World Watch Institute uses 25,000 population as the standard for defining a city, so Bahia qualifies at the high […]
September has been overcast nearly every day since we arrived nearly two weeks ago. Some locals have taken to wearing sweaters and jackets and making mock shivers when the say ‘Esta frio (It’s cold)!” But most continue to wear T-shirts as Judy and I do who feel that it’s pretty reasonable weather for San Franciscans. It reminds me of the opposite sweating and immobilized reaction […]
I. Introduction — The need and purpose of a plan to create an ecological city. A) Need 1. Ecological City Declaration 2. Understanding, coordination and participation with all ecological endeavors a. Projects and activities — government and private b. Public participation — consult and assist in developing various activities and projects. Public information — government, schools, media, visitors, etc. B) Purpose 1. Guide activities toward […]