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   7/2 Ethan Adelman |
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Although the warm sun, shady palm trees and fresh ocean breezes
might make Puerto Lopez  seem like a tropical paradise, the hard life
of poverty is the reality for most of the inhabitants of this small
fishing town. The fishermen set out each day at four in the morning
and because of a season marked by an unusually small catch, often
must stay out overnight. Eight months ago, things got even tougher
for Puerto Lopez and a fishing supplies store run by the local
Organazacion de Pescadores Artesanales.
The Almacen "Puerto Lopez" is a small oceanfront shop
three years shop created ago by the Organizacion de  Pescadores Artesanales so
the fisherman of Puerto Lopez could be self sufficient and not have to
pay exorbitant prices for fishing supplies in neighboring cities. If
the store succeeded it would benefit the solidarity, efficiency and
economy of the entire town. However, in addition to the slow season, the organization's partnership in the store with another
non-profitorganization ended and made it difficult for the Almacen to
remain open.
The Fundacion Esquel-Ecuador recognized the importance of
the Almacen to the dignity and economic stability of the fishermen
andtheir families. Three months ago, PROCESO, the program of Esquel
that enters into temporary partnerships with fledgling businesses,
came tothe rescue. They joined the fishermen in a partnership called
Pesteco. Esquel supplied additional capital to assist the supply
needs of the store. With this additional investment, the Organization
de Pescadores Artesanales still maintained 60% of the ownership while
Esquel temporarily gained 40%. After the Almacen is able to get on its
feet it will buy Esquel's portion of the store, the fishermen will be
on their own and Esquel will invest in another project.
"I think this place is important to the town and the people," said
Pedro Ponce M., the manager of the Almacen, "I think Esquel is aware
of that."
The Almacen is just a start however. In the future, Esquel and the
Organacion would like to build a large freezer where they can store
fish and avoid the cost of dealing with a middleman. With a helping
hand and a boost from Esquel, the Organazacion de Pescadores
Artesanales are poised to pull themselves from poverty and make the
ocean paradise of Puerto Lopez more than an exaggerated fish story.
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Write to the Gobierno Nacional, or the Ministerio de Industrias, Comercio, Integracion y Pesca, and urge them to supply more resources of the Organization de Pescadores Artesanales so that they can become self-sufficient and maintain their ecologically sound fishing techniques. With more resources, they could build a large cooler where they could store fish and provide more services to local fishermen. In addition to making donations or buying stock in El Pesteco, one could donate suggestions of International Organizations that could be of help, technical assistance, or ideas of how to help the fishermen succeed.
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First dial 011-593-2 to get to Quito: 
Written 1996