Our primary partner is the Mangrove Association, a non-governmental organization that was created to support a grassroots social movement in rural El Salvador called La Coordinadora del Bajo Lempa y Bahia de Jiquilisco (La Coordinadora for short). We have supported La Coordinadora and the Mangrove Association since their inception in the mid-1990s, helping these efforts grow to reach over 100 communities. Its members are primarily subsistence farmers and fishers whose livelihoods depend on the viability of local ecosystems.

Today, the Mangrove Association supports three interconnected grassroots social movements in the Lempa River and Bay of Jiquilisco area and reaches into 8 municipalities of southeastern El Salvador with a population of approximately 35,000 people.

Over time, our work with the Mangrove Association has evolved to support a region-wide movement to conserve El Salvador’s largest protected area and UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, the Bay of Jiquilisco. Working especially with fishermen, small farmers, women and youth, we support development that works with nature instead of against it.

We partner with AMBAS, the Women’s Association of Barra de Santiago, a sea turtle conservation and women’s empowerment program in the western region of El Salvador. AMBAS operates the only women-run sea turtle conservation program in the region and manages mangrove restoration projects, conducts livelihood trainings for low-income women, and engages the community in a variety of conservation activities.

Our primary partner in Honduras is Red COMAL, a network of small-scale farmers, cooperatives, and community micro-finance associations. Red COMAL provides training programs, facilitates access to credit and markets and helps thousands of Hondurans build a vibrant and equitable alternative rural economy. EcoViva’s work with Red COMAL strengthens resilience among small farmers and entrepreneurs through training and technical assistance, as well as through investments in sustainable, agroecological farms.

The Mangrove Alliance is a coalition of community-based conservation organizations concerned with protecting the mangrove forests of Mesoamerica (Mexico and Central America). The Mangrove Alliance facilitates coordination and collaboration among all the actors who have a stake in the well-being of the mangrove forests of Mesoamerica – first and foremost the local communities who live from the forest, as well as conservation organizations, scientists and other experts, and policymakers. EcoViva assists the leaders of the Mangrove Alliance set agendas, strategize for maximum impact, and plan national and international convenings and technological exchanges.