and Nathan M. Senge
At 2:13 pm on August 31st, 2017, a Golfina turtle landed at one of the Manglito beaches. This has not happened in 35 years. Some of us were lucky enough to see her laying her eggs in front of a human community that, on the same day, was granted rights through a fishing concession to restore and fish 12 bivalve fisheries in the Ensenada de La Paz.
Back in 2012, the fishermen of El Manglito decided to stop fishing, to monitor their resources, to protect those resources from illegal fishing, and eventually to fight off an invasive species that was extirpating their fish stock. In 2012, the Callo de Hacha fishery had less than 60,000 organisms. Today there are more than 4 million. Thanks to this, they will harvest these Hachas at last, and with this harvest they will enter into a new chapter, and a new era.
They are now owners of a community-based business that can provide income for at least 100 families. In short, they have transitioned from scarcity to abundance. And this transition is not only about money – it is about wealth. It is about regaining power to build the future you want, to have the knowledge to make wise decisions. It is about the beauty to take care of children and the elderly, the beauty to create, and the beauty to belong. It is about new values and a new way of seeing and to think and to feel in a community reborn.
In a very humble way, this community is showing that, for a tragedy of the commons, there can be a miracle of collective leadership and a power in shared vision. We look forward to working with you all through the challenges that lie ahead. After all, as Peter Senge said, being at the top of the mountain only shows you that you have earned the right to climb the next one, one that is much higher. There are many coastal communities facing scarcity, depletion, and profound suffering right now. But, like El Manglito, all of them carry the gene of resilience and hope. The power of our mission is to work together with the members of those communities to awaken their desire, to develop their capacities, to take their future into all of our hands.
On behalf of the NOS team, I want to thank all of you for walking with us on this path. I want to thank you for all your teachings, for your support, for your actions, for your prayers, for the love. THANKS!
….And thanks to the turtle for bringing a clear message of restoration, trust, life, and possibility.