Mazunte is growing fast and the past few years have seen a large increase in cases of dengue fever - an endemic and serious illness spread by mosquitoes.

Eliminating key incubators such as standing water is essential to reducing mosquito larvae. We have learned from similar projects in Mexico and around the world that the largest vector for larvae is an innocent-seeming culprit: discarded coconuts. Believed to be readily biodegradable, coconut shells are discarded into bushes, ditches and the dry river bed, where they take more than a year to decompose. In the meantime, they collect water and act as a perfect breeding ground for mosquitoes.

The Dengue Health Project is a long-term ecological and sustainable solution for protecting the health of both the people and environment of Mazunte:

- Community teams will work with volunteers to clear thousands of old coconuts

- The health committee will distribute posters to inform visitors to return coconut shells to the seller or to place by trash cans for collection

- Local businesses have agreed to drop off waste at a designated location

- Collected coconut shells are crushed to create mulch that will be used under the area’s trees to protect their root systems, initially in Punta Cometa

Your donation is needed to purchase a commercial wood chipping machine and for set up costs. The first year of the project is budgeted at 48,500 pesos (US$2500/€2000/£1750), primarily for the Bomeri Wood Chipper (39,500 pesos). Subsequent operating costs will be mitigated by renting capacity on the chipper for general garden clearances, forest management and so on. Our aim is for the program to become fully self-funding, while providing immense long-term benefits to the community and to the land.

Please give what you can to secure a future for Mazunte free of dengue fever. Thank you.

Supported by:

Committee de Centro Salud
EcoLuna Mazunte
Hridaya Yoga
The Good Table