ABSTRACT
What do you do when your only source of income suddenly becomes illegal? The coastal community of Mazunte, Oaxaca, faced just this dilemma when the Mexican government banned the killing of sea turtles in 1990. The town’s sole employer, a turtle slaughterhouse, closed its doors and the community was plunged into economic crisis. Since the early 1980s Hector Marcelli has promoted sustainable development in the region, seeking to balance a fragile ecosystem with the needs of the impoverished local population. It made little sense to Hector that Mazunte, a community so rich in natural resources, should live in poverty. He set to work with community members to develop environmentally sustainable alternatives to the turtle trade. Twelve years later, Mazunte and its environs are home to several thriving industries, including the manufacture of natural cosmetics, organic chocolate and peanut butter, and coastal ecotourism. Building on the success of this and other examples, Hector founded a national organization, Bioplaneta, to promote fair trade, organic agriculture and sustainable development across the country. Bioplaneta seeks to create fair-trade links between small producers and consumers, providing technical, diagnostic and financial assistance to over 40 small cooperatives. The Bioplaneta network has experienced impressive successes as well as challenges. These experiences highlight questions concerning the economic, social and environmental viability of fair-trade models and point to the important role that green entrepreneurs can play in the process of community revitalization.
