Giving Back to the Community

Like many communities around the world, Santa Teresa faces various challenges. At Yoko we take a proactive approach to things and step up to meet these challenges, contributing the best we can.

Santa Teresa is a small town, and tourism is constantly growing; this is a good thing for investors and businesses, but it can affect the sustainability of the community. We are putting our efforts into maintaining the cleanness of the streets and beaches and the wildlife habitats surrounding us.

We appreciate the local organizations that allowed us to help their members along with them. Provide&Conquer gave us the opportunity to meet Xinia Solano, and with Casa Restauración, we made a recollection of donatives.

Check this web page about our efforts to contribute to the community; click here to learn more about it.

Casa Restauración

We have been able to work along with organizations to help and make our initiatives like:

• Donatives for Casa de Restauracion organization
• Reforestation and Ecological Restoration
• Donation along with Provide&Conquer
• Donation for the school of Rio Negro
• Beach, rivers, and street cleanups
• Social events to collect funds
• Water treatment plants
• Reparation of streets

Ecological Restoration

Beach, rivers, and street cleanups

Santa Teresa has a wide variety of wildlife, such as birds, turtles, whales, monkeys, a large variety of fish, stingrays, etc. The contamination is everywhere, starting from the jungle, going through the rivers, and ending up in the ocean. All wildlife is affected when any kind of trash, such as cans, microplastics, and bags, enters their habitats.

Sustainability is a great concern here. We are happy to be a part of the solution by creating a team of locals cleaning the streets. We try to raise awareness about the contamination we face. We got very excited when we realized many people had started contributing to this initiative!

Reforestation and Ecological Restoration

At YokoVillage North and at Sangha, we started a process called ecological restoration. When we purchased these lands, we knew they were damaged as they used to be farmed. We have decided to bring them back to life.

With this project, we aim to revive the habitats many animals lost and regenerate the grounds’ soil the natural way. Our landscape architects designed a beautiful project for the restoration and reforestation of the lands so that all plant varieties of Santa Teresas’ ecosystem will thrive, creating a significant ecological impact.

Check this link to learn more about the reforestation and regeneration of the soil project!

Water Treatment Plants

One of the most significant environmental issues we face in Santa Teresa, and other rapidly developing areas, is the lack of proper wastewater management systems. Septic systems can be inefficient over time if they aren’t maintained properly or if there isn’t enough space for the effluent to dilute. Many untreated greywaters (from sinks, showers, and washers) end up discharged into the land

Yoko Village intends to maximize the opportunity of being a community by centralizing the wastewater treatment system and using an aerobic process to simultaneously treat black and grey water.

The Water Treatment Plant will reduce the volume of waste released into the ecosystem, significantly improving the environment’s status. By cutting down on pollution, water treatment helps reduce health hazards for wildlife and humans alike.

SOCIAL IMPACTS

Recollection of donatives for Casa de Restauracion organization

Casa de restauraciόn is a private social non-profit organization that offers shelter to women and children suffering from extreme poverty, escaping physical or mental violence, or recovering from drug addiction, among other issues.

We are glad to be able to help, donating and organizing a recollection of donatives.

Donation along with the Provide&Conquer organization

Provide&Conquer is a community project supporting women by offering them access to education and mentorship so that they can thrive economically and socially.

We met Xinia Solano through Provide&Conquer. We were touched by her story and had the opportunity to help her make her dream come true by donating a car. Xinia came to Santa Teresa 17 years ago. She is now the owner of a business called Spoonfuls of Love, and she is selling her products at many restaurants and stores around Santa Teresa. Come to the Green World Store to try her vegan and very healthy soups and drinks!

To learn about her story, check out this interview we made!

Reparation of streets

During the rainy season, the streets are hard to pass as they are not paved yet. The mud gets soft and slippery, and accidents can happen. We are working our way to support the development of roads; in the meanwhile, we asked our team to make them secure for the community to drive through.

We look forward to keeping contributing to the community as we go and are currently working on these projects:

• Sponsoring local entrepreneurs to participate in the local market
• Cultural gathering (music, art, sports, gastronomy)
• Training for domestic cleaning personnel
• Free English classes for the community
• Educational workshops to collect funds
• Buying plastic recycling machinery
• Creation of garbage bins
• Gastronomic festivals
• Family days

Follow our events on our Facebook and Instagram pages to stay updated on what we do in the community. As always, reach out to us if you have any questions or want to schedule a call with us. Stay tuned for more exciting developments happening at YokoVillage!