Colonche - Santa Elena - Guayas Ecuador
Padre Bertram
Ecological
Produce
Products
Plan
for Interconnected Development
In
search of Solidarity Market
About
the Project Executor
A
Division of the Ecuadorian Foundation “Santa Maria del Fiat”
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Ecological
Produce
We
are growing aloe Vera barbadensis mille and opuntia in the virgin land of
the mountainous Colonche in the Santa Elena Peninsula, Provincia Guayas,
Ecuador. We guarantee the natural, non-accelerated growth of the plants without
the use of any chemical or inorganic fertilizing.
To
keep the plants always green, we manually water each one during the dry season.
To
prevent the corrosive effect of automated irrigation, we refuse to use
mechanized watering which could
jeopardize the scarce sources of drinking water
in this semi-desert area.
Moreover,
the manual irrigation allows us to detect early the irregularities in the growth
of the plants and the
presence of diseases (although up to this day, there has
not been any).
This 100 % natural plant grows only with the help of the human hand to
yield a product of exceptional quality.
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Products
for sale
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Opuntia
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Plan
for Interconnected Development
The
cultivation and production of Aloe Vera and opuntia is accomplished in an area
adverse for the development of agriculture because of its arid and semi-desert
climate. The development of conventional agriculture, which requires the
appropriate sources of irrigation, is forever precluded given the lack of water,
the limited resources for the acquisition of the advanced technology and the
competitiveness of the market. Therefore,
it was opted for products which do not require excessive irrigation as an
alternative path of development which could be generalized for Ecuador as a
whole.
Due
to the lack of infrastructure, the local population receives inadequate training
and education. The school system
performs poorly and the young people in the area are marginalized and
disadvantaged for life. The project of Aloe Vera and opuntia originated as grass
root effort for financing of the local schools. Six from the twenty communities
in the parish are employing additional private instructors. This project,
therefore, is expected to confront the serious educational problems for the
children in the area. At the same time, ways of self-financing are sought for
the only private high school in the area in order to keep the cost
of tuition low. Currently, 148 students are attending this institution.
What was, and still is, a community project was expanded to provide the
families of the local farmers a source of more reliable income. The traditional
and commonly practiced non-mechanized seasonal cultivation of corn does not in
reality assure profitable returns.
The cultivation of aloe Vera and opuntia entails only manual labor.
Therefore, provision of additional employment was the other main reason for the
choice of these products.
In
search of Solidarity Market
We
are well aware that we cannot compete with the big producers of aloe Vera in the
global market. Therefore, we are looking for business partners targeting clients
who take in consideration the social problems of the developing South.
We would like to sell our products to clients who are looking for
exceptional quality and are willing to pay a solidarity price in order to
justify the method of production which assures the natural, non-accelerated
growth of the plants without constant irrigation.
For
the interested investor:
While still in
the initial phase of the project, we are looking for investors to allow the
cultivation of greater territory and the incorporation of more farmers.
We are interested in a loan of US $ 500.000,
40% of which will be used for cultivation and 60% for a processing plant.
We can offer a 6% annual inters over a 10 year term, hypothecating the
processing plant itself and fifty hectares of land.
About
the project executor
In
September of 1994, Father Bertram Wick, ordained priest from Switzerland, was
assigned as the parish of the Catholic Church in the district of Colonche. Since
the life of the parish does not consist only in attending and guiding the
spiritual life the congregation, there has been an outgoing effort to improve
the standard of living for all people living in the area:
In addition to the parochial
high school three years ago, the parish opened a medical cabinet and a public
pharmacy. It also provides for 70 high school and university fellowships, and
covers the medical expenses of 140 widows and widowers in the area. Following
the devastation incurred by phenomenon El Nino, the parish facilitated the
construction and financing of 90 houses. Finally, in 1998 the parish renovated
the historical 18th century temple in Colonche constructed entirely
of wood.
The
funding for all these activities came from the international community,
especially from Switzerland, Germany, the United States, Italy and Austria.
Nevertheless, in search of self-sustainable financing for the solutions
of our problems and endless petitions, we hope that our own work to insure the
substantial improvement of our lives. The
parish researched the horticultural conditions of this semi-desert area and
experimented with grape, pineapple, passion fruit, etc. As a result, the most
promising and suitable products proved to be Aloe Vera, and as of recently,
opuntia.
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Bajada/Colonche-Ecuador
Thank you for visit our Web-Pages
Contact to E-Mail: wickenzler@porta.net
