Emergency Funds for ASTOP
Donation protected
There is a place named Parismina – it’s a tiny dot on our map – a village of about 500 people in the heart of the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, accessible only by boat. Here, in a culture where sea turtle meat and egg consumption was once the norm, there is a small, community grassroots organization that fights year after year for conservation. Meet ASTOP: Asociacion Salvemos las Tortugas de Parismina.
Yes, there are many sea turtle conservation groups out there... so why is ASTOP so special? Honestly: because this small organization embodies the essence of community. It starts local - as a grassroots project that employs local homestay families and patrol guides - then extends to an international conservation community that strives to encourage education and fights for species protection. ASTOP has faced more than its share of challenges. It’s remote (i.e., nearly inaccessible): it takes 2 buses + boat to get there. There’s little infrastructure. It’s rural. At best, it’s an impoverished community – for most families, the main sources of income are: turtles (both working for or against conservation), or seasonal sport fishing. Yet, year after year, ASTOP takes on these challenges and fight for a cause they believe in. There are frustrating times and some bad apples, but that’s real community life. You take what you’re given and do your best.
The 2020 nesting season has been particularly crushing for the small ASTOP team. This isn’t a case where sea turtles are rebounding due to the COVID-19 pandemic and shelter-in-place orders. Instead, ASTOP’s funding has been decimated, poaching has increased as people struggle to find income, and the beach is unprotected as ASTOP works at half-capacity with forced staff cuts.
In a time when there appears to be little to look forward to, small acts can restore so much of what community has been lost. Let's help them win this fight. This small organization runs off a budget of nearly nothing - if we can meet the fundraising goal of $3,500 this would be more than enough to help fund the patrol guides for the rest of the nesting season. Let's show this little community of fighters that we seem them and their efforts!
Organizer
Sharon Hsu
Organizer
Marina, CA