2012 Annual Report - The Nature Conservancy

NATURE NOURISHES OUR DREAMS
Marisa Muñoz
Huape, Chile
“We were housekeepers and beachcombers.
Those were our jobs. Our dream was
always to have a place where we could
sell products from our small farms and
from our husbands’ fishing. A group of us
women made a proposal, got a grant and
built this restaurant and shop. The Pesca Sur
restaurant has changed our lives because
we are now entrepreneurs—something
we had not even dreamed of. We are now
women who manage a business.”
In 2003, the Conservancy, with support from WWF
and Conservation International, purchased 147,500
acres of biologically rich temperate rainforest on
Chile’s southern coast from a bankrupt forestry
company. Now the Valdivian Coastal Reserve is a
hub for the surrounding communities to rebuild a
sustainable local economy. The Conservancy is helping
restore streamside native forests to improve water
quality for a growing artisanal mussels and Chilean
abalone industry, and is supporting development
of such micro-businesses as organic honey and
ecotourism services, as well as efforts like Marisa
Muñoz’s Pesca Sur sustainable seafood restaurant.
Clockwise from top left: Honey produced by Huape community; Mussel
extraction by Chaihuin fishermen; Marisa Muñoz in her local restaurant;
Fish market near the reserve, Valdivia Coastal Reserve, Chile.
Nature Matters I The Nature Conservancy 19