Supporting 500 families,
and training 1,200 people
On 16 April 2016, a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck Ecuador at a depth of 20km. There were thousands of victims, and material damage was estimated at over 3.3 billion dollars. The coastal provinces of Manabí and Esmeraldas were hit hardest. The earthquake had an impact on living conditions in rural communities and on high-employment sectors, such as tourism and artisanal fishing. All this at a time when the country was already hurting from the drop in oil prices. Despite the immediate emergency relief provided through national and international initiatives, other earthquakes have followed on a regular basis and the local economy is struggling to recover without special assistance.
Project overview
The ‘REACTIV’ project aims to support rural communities and help families become more resilient by reviving the local economy in Ecuador’s Manabi and Esmeraldas provinces. It focuses on restoring means of production and strengthening two sectors that are important sources of local jobs and income, and on implementing tools and local services to revive the local economy.
Objectives
- revive the artisanal-fishing and tourism sectors from an economic and organisational standpoint in four different cantons;
- support the revival of the local economy by offering the tools and services needed to get the economy back on its feet;
- support entrepreneurship with local authorities;
- create four local plans for reviving the local economy and four multi-actor platforms.
Key figures and results
- 1,200 people will be involved in the creation of community-run investment entities (sociétés populaires d’investissement);
- 500 families (cocoa producers, fishermen and promoters of tourist services) have benefitted from the project;
- 280 businesses have restored their means of production, and 160 businesses have benefitted from investments in infrastructure and equipment;
- 12 training sessions on financial education, and 4 training sessions on local economic development for local actors;
- 60 community-run investment entities will be created, and 15 producer organisations and tourist-service providers have strengthened their capacities and gained access to new markets;
- 80 people attended training sessions on entrepreneurial management and quality of service, and at least 60 young people and women have benefitted from the entrepreneurial support programme.
