GREEN ROOF EFFECT - ProMéxico

56 Negocios i The Lifestyle photo archive
Mazunte,
from
Turtles to
Cosmetics
The small Mexican Pacific
coast village of Mazunte has
gone from an economically
depressed turtle fishing village
to a community that has
remade itself with cosmetics,
ecotourism and the aim of
cooperative organizations.
By Fidelia Fadel
For generations, the residents of Mazunte –a
small beach town on the Pacific Coast in the
southern state of Oaxaca – made their living
from turtle fishing and hunting. But in 1990,
the practice was forbidden by law and the
locals soon were plunged into poverty and
high unemployment.
But thanks to a little hard work, ingenuity
and a helping hand from cooperative organizations
and businesses committed to rural
communities and the environment, Mazunte
is climbing out of its economic troubles and
reinventing itself by looking to alternative
forms of industry like cosmetics and ecotourism.
The change began in 1993 when a project
promoted by the Tropical Forestry Action
Plan helped install solar energy cells
throughout the entire town. The area was
also reforested with vegetation suitable for
such an ecosystem. In addition, cabins were
built with adobe. This element is used in
rectangular units and it doesn’t have a negative
impact on the environment because the
materials to produce it are as simple as soil
and water. In opposition to regular bricks,
raw adobe doesn’t need to be fired –which is
a major source of pollution–, it is dried thanks
to the solar energy. It is also worth to mention
that the design of all structures in Mazunte is
based on an architectural model that blends
in with the natural landscape.