Project No. 03/2025 –
Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Future
(Santo Domingo/Canoa, Ecuador)
The Conventual Franciscan Provincial Delegation in Ecuador has proposed Ecological and Social Project No. 03/2025, entitled, “Renewable Energy for a Sustainable Future,” aimed at building a solar power system to support a small-scale natural cosmetics initiative, with the goal of ensuring a stable and adequate energy supply for the production and training activities of the women involved.
The project is being developed in the province of Manabí, one of the regions of Ecuador most affected by gender-based violence, with a high number of femicides and widespread social vulnerability. In this context, many women live in conditions of poverty, often with very young children and in single-parent households, lacking adequate educational and economic resources. The lack of concrete opportunities exposes them to situations of abuse and marginalization, making it difficult to build a dignified future.
This initiative is based in Canoa Parish, San Vicente Canton, within the Diocese of Santo Domingo—a coastal area with a strong tourism economy and a population of about 19,116, including 9,274 women. Here, the friars propose a sustainable project to promote women’s economic independence through the artisanal production of natural cosmetics, combined with training and the creation of a botanical garden to cultivate the required raw materials.
In recent months, the country has experienced frequent power outages, with interruptions lasting up to eight hours a day, seriously compromising the continuity of production activities. These interruptions hinder the women’s ability to work consistently, limiting the project’s effectiveness and sustainability.
To address this need, the project will install an appropriately sized solar energy system that will ensure a continuous, reliable power supply to conduct artisanal activities. This will support uninterrupted production, improve working conditions, and promote sustainable community development, while fostering economic independence and the better use of local resources.
Project Information
- Conventual Franciscan Jurisdiction: Provincial Delegation of St. Anthony of Padua in Ecuador, of the Province of St. Maximilian M. Kolbe in Poland (Gdańsk)
- Country: Ecuador
- Location: Santo Domingo / Canoa
- Type of Project: Ecological and social project
- Date of Proposal: January 29, 2025
- Direct Project Coordinators:
-
- Friar Mirosław DUBIELA
- Friar Marek K. SZYMAŃSKI
- Email: marcokonrad48@gmail.com
- Total Project Cost: $7,000.00
- Local Contributions:
- $1,155.00
- Co-funding by the Franciscan Missionary Center:
- €5,000.00 (around $5,500.00)
- The remaining costs were covered at the local level.
- Funding Status:
- The project is already fully funded and implemented.
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