Our Story
“People conserve what they love”
- Jacques Yves Cousteau
It all started with great friendships and a wonderful surf trip. Four lifelong friends (our co-founders) traveled along the Peruvian coast in search of waves. One of the locations they went to was the off-the-beaten-track town of Lobitos. Whilst there they caught some of the best waves of their lives, met some of the kindest people imaginable and were exposed to breath-taking natural beauty and wildlife. Jacques Cousteau once said: "people conserve what they love" and the group of friends had fallen for Lobitos. Seeing the environmental and social constraints the town was enduring though, contrasting with the natural beauty of the locality, made them realize that if nothing was done Lobitos' essence would not be a lasting one. EcoSwell is the manifestation of this call to action.
There was a clear lack of clean water, the sewer system was broken and wastewater spills had sprung up all over the town, there was huge degradation of the dry forest ecosystem, the fishing community did not have a relevant role in the growing tourism industry and none of the local stakeholders communicated or shared a common vision. We came to the realization that as a group of young professionals from diverse backgrounds and with a true passion for sustainability, we could make a difference in helping organize and guide the development of Lobitos, so we started to plan out our next steps.
Since then we have become part of the community, we have developed over 19 projects covering ten of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and have improved the lives of over 30,000 people not just Lobitos, but in eight communities spread out in northern and southern Peru. Furthermore we have restored large patches of equatorial dry forest by planting thousands of trees and continue to help guide the community towards a more sustainable way of life that makes both people and natural ecosystems thrive together.
The EcoSwell Family has now grown from 4 childhood friends with a vision to over 30 professionals from various nationalities, careers and backgrounds working together to try to make a positive impact in the lives of vulnerable coastal communities in Peru. We have teams in Peru and the UK and work with over 25 inspiring and value driven partners to enhance our ability to generate a long lasting and meaningful impact. This is only the beginning of our story… there is so much more to come and we are excited for anyone who wishes to be a part of it!
Short Documentary “La Otra Ruta” about Our Story
Documentary about EcoSwell and Lobitos in "La Otra Ruta" program aired on national peruvian television channel RPP on August 25th 2018