The community of La Paz transforms its relationship with the sea through a collective approach, rescuing the Ensenada and generating sustainable economic alternatives.

The shared vision is the result of a collective process in which the members of a group see their personal aspirations reflected in a common interest so important and significant, both personally and collectively, that it generates commitment, energy and collective action, which motivates to create and bring to reality that shared vision.

The vision is so important that it allows changing habits, creating a new culture in which collective learning is the basis for the development of the organization, the company or the collective. Learning is based on listening and spaces for dialogue, reflecting on what has been done and looking for new, creative solutions.

The community of El Manglitoin La Pazhas been able to transform itself significantly thanks to the development of a shared vision and have worked to create the visionary future, building capabilities and developing skills.

María de Lourdes Tamayo Aguilarproject coordinator at NOS Sustainable Northwest expressed that this approach has been key for the sustainable development community, enabling them to face challenges and find collective solutions. The vision helps to regain energy and direction in processes that are dynamic and continuously learning.

This is one of the five disciplines defined by Peter Senge to develop learning organizations.

A process that began in 2011

He recalled that since 2009, El Manglito has been the scene of a process of change that began with cleanup days and evolved into a more profound transformation in 2011, when local fishermen created a shared vision to rescue the Ensenada de La PazThe water body that provided them with sustenance, but which was in difficult environmental conditions for the life of species and in a situation of scarcity due to various causes.

Once the community developed this shared vision, it was agreed to stop extracting callo de hacha to recover the fishery, changing the model of thinking on which this activity had been based for many years, and to start deep cleaning actions to improve the conditions of the ecosystem.

"One of the things that were achieved in all this time is to go from saying 'I'm going to the sea to extract the product', to thinking that you can also plant, like when you go to the land or the field and plant so that it will produce for you. You stop extracting, you give it to the sea, you clean what is not good at the bottom, so that the Ensenada can be productive, that is a change in thinking", he emphasized.

Inspiration for new generations

Tamayo Aguilar emphasized that another positive aspect that the shared vision has left in the community of El Manglitois the strengthening and development of the capacities and abilities of individuals and groups.

He said that older fishermen who changed their thinking model and moved away from the extractive fishing to the care and respect for the sea, were an inspiring example for the new generations, who are proud to belong to the community and have a respectful relationship with the Ensenada.

"That is why the new generations are preparing themselves more professionally, there are now marine biologists, fisheries engineers, tour guides, and economic alternatives to fishing have also been developed. It is a profound change in thinking," he said.

Community leadership is key

María de Lourdes Tamayo indicated that achieving this change in mentality through a shared vision has not been easy in El ManglitoIt is difficult to tell a fisherman not to fish, because that is what he lives on, but to achieve the objectives, leadership has been fundamental.

"Community leaderships are very valuable and important, that is why we work on strengthening the skills they already have per se or on generating capacities that are required to carry out leadership and we are discovering them, because they are very important. The energy of the groups sometimes depends on the leaders, if a leader loses energy, it is complicated for the group, so the role they play is very valuable," he said.

The project coordinator of NOS Sustainable Northwest said that through a shared vision, the community itself has drawn different perspectives for change and no longer think of living only from fishing, but have opened up to new alternatives, such as the mariculturethe ecotourism and various activities they have developed.

"The impact is to get out of a single look and have only one path, to see different alternatives to develop as individuals and develop their own families, including the community relationship, not to say that there are no internal differences, but at least they know that everyone is going in the same direction," he said.

This change in mentality has allowed the families of the El Manglito to restore the Ensenada de La PazHe emphasized the need to develop economic alternatives and to be resilient to the changes that reality presents to them.