By Diego Almendrades | Director of Sustainable Development and Finance
Dear GlobalGiving Donors,
We’re delighted to share the latest news and progress from our conservation, ecotourism, and water and sanitation initiatives across Lobitos, Negritos, and Piedritas in the Piura province of northern Peru. Your continued support remains essential to our mission of protecting these unique and fragile ecosystems while sustaining the livelihoods of local communities.
GEMS visit
In March, we were thrilled to be able to welcome back students from the University of Newcastle’s Global Engineering Module, extending this fruitful partnership for another year. Last year, students built a new bridge along the Piedritas ecotourism trails, while this year, they’ll be tackling the chronic sanitation problems associated with wastewater spills in Lobitos by installing a biodigester septic tank system.
During their time with us, the GEMs students worked day-in and day-out to settle and verify the final design and calculations for this implementation, prepped and cleared the work site and proceeded to do the installation of all the system’s components with our guidance and leadership. With this project, Lobitos has received a whole biodigester septic tank system to address one of its main wastewater spills (serving a whole neighbourhood of approx. 47 families) completely free as a donation to the community – an eco-friendly way of treating raw domestic wastewater and avoiding reducing spills that threaten people and the environment. The installation of the biodigester involved not only the labour of the GEMs Newcastle Engineering students, but also precise management and coordination with the Local Municipal Government of Lobitos (for all necessary work permits) and with the Lobitos Fishermen’s Guild (who contributed their backhoe loader to dig the necessary pits and to carry and precisely place the 150kg septic tank). A successful multi-stakeholder joint-effort!
Outside of work, we were delighted to see the students explore our beautiful hometown, surfing, swimming and playing football! On their final day, they presented their learning and reflections from the project, before sitting down to a farewell dinner. However, their work lives on long after their departure, as we continued to distribute leaflets they designed within the community to ensure that all beneficiaries were aware of the best practices regarding their new biodigester system, as well as conducting a community workshop. We can’t wait to welcome them back again next year to continue with more meaningful impact!
Tree Planting
Our weekly planting days are still going strong in Lobitos, with staff and volunteer interns all getting involved every Wednesday to promote neighbourhood greening, provide shade, and spread awareness about the local ecosystem and native plant species. Most recently, we involved local schoolchildren, ensuring that the environmental and social value that trees provide carries through to the next generation.
A Heartfelt Thank You
Your generosity continues to inspire and empower our efforts. With your support, we are promoting ecological awareness, advancing water and sanitation initiatives and contributing to better public health in Northern Peru.
We are truly grateful for your ongoing dedication to our shared mission.
Warm regards,
Diego Almendrades
Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.
If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.
Support this important cause by creating a personalized fundraising page.
Start a Fundraiser
