What can this remote Colombian island teach us about living sustainably?
The islanders of Santa Cruz Del Islote have no access to public facilities like running freshwater, electrical grids or sewage networks — and have little in the way of natural resources. So what can they teach us about living with less?
Located just off the northwest coast of Colombia, Santa Cruz del Islote is only a little bigger than a football pitch. It’s home to an eclectic mix of about 500 islanders who don’t have access to the public facilities we’re accustomed to.
With a lack of these facilities, simple chores like washing dishes become an activity that requires an admirable amount of sharing and cooperation. Residents must take care of their water supply, and put a great emphasis on making careful use of their resources.
Everything from food to fun is shared for the benefit of all.
To dive deeper into this fascinating community, Colombia’s largest bank, Bancolombia worked with Google, creative agency SanchoBBDO and MediaMonks to produce a Street View-like recreation of Santa Cruz del Islote.
Created in WebGl, the ‘School of Sustainability’ project allows visitors to explore the island in 360° and watch interviews — shot by Colombian director Simón Brand — designed to help viewers think twice about how they use the world’s resources.
Residents of Santa Cruz del Islote told their personal stories about life on the island when it comes to their economy, community, and the wider ecology of the world.
Making the most of their surrounding resources
According to the FAO — the UN’s reporting body when it comes to food and agriculture — 30% of marine fish are overexploited, depleted or in recovery.
When our food goes out of date, we throw it out and go to the store. But the islanders on Santa Cruz Del Islote don’t have that luxury. They rely on fishing to sustain themselves and have done for generations.
And as human effects like overfishing and pollution cause growing problems to marine life, communities just like Santa Cruz del Islote will be the first to feel the effects.
Blas Enrique Mesa Medrano is a fisherman on the island. He’s seen the island’s fishing activity grow — and has felt the problems overfishing is causing first-hand.
“I get up at 4:30 in the morning and I go fishing. As with everything there are times of abundance and times when I earn 50000 pesos. In the 70s there used to be 60 fishermen, now there are 180 — and 600 come from elsewhere — so we’re finishing off what the park has provided for us.
“Nowadays I don’t trap small lobsters, I don’t trap small snails, I always try to take good care of things. But you see the others dont have that [same approach]; That’s why they’ll trap all different sized species. That’s the concern I have. They’re constantly jeopardizing the fauna — and that impacts how our resources gradually start to run out.”
— Blas Enrique Mesa Medrano, Fisherman
It has long been known that our current rate of global consumption is too high. Our seas are overfished, our forests cleared, and our oceans acidified. And just like Blas, making efforts to mitigate this consumption is the basis of sustainability.
But it’s not just food and waste that is a problem: it’s what surrounds the island. Only 1% of the earth’s water is drinkable — and the islanders must make sure they take great care of their freshwater supply.
Water is everywhere, but on Santa Cruz Del Islote, there’s not a drop to waste.
“In the winter we collect rainwater and we put it in a cistern tank at the health center. And then it’s sold to the community for wellbeing. It’s water we use to wash clothes and for bathing.
“The fresh water we collect through a gutter system is used for drinking and in food preparation. Water is gold on the island. And because people in the city always have it instantly available, they don’t value it. They don’t know how to take care of it.”
— Adrián de Jesús Caraballo de Hoyo, Resident, Santa Cruz del Islote
How much does a glass of water cost? More than we think.
The island’s sharing economy
On Santa Cruz del Islote, when people do not have the means to access something, they join together and thus, by sharing, they are able to have a better quality of life — from paying energy bills to feeding their families.
“Fishing that is sufficient for one can be enough for us all” says Jorge Luis, a fisherman on the island. Jorge has experienced in the past that the growing problem of overfishing means partnership is key on the island.
“I go out with my partner, we find a rock with lots of lobsters, catch them and share them here. There were a lot of fishermen before, now there are a lot of people in fishing. There are fishermen from here, others that come from other areas. The neighbors are not considerate of us.
“So when I tell my partner ‘we didn’t catch anything’, ‘I didn’t bring anything back to shore’, as we arrived, my partner gave me his fish so that I can have dinner with him. That’s what we’re like here, we like to share.”
— Jorge Luis, Fisherman
The island has a general store, run by Susana Castillo. According to the UN’s FAO organization, as much as one third of the food produced in the world ends up in the trash — but she goes as far as selling half a tomato to help islanders who can’t afford a whole one.
“When I first started the store a lot of people from the island would come and tell me they didn’t have enough to eat.” says Susana, one of the island’s experts in sustainable consumption.
“The nicest thing on this island is sharing with people, my friends. I sell half a tomato because sometimes people are poor and they don’t have enough to buy a whole one.” adds Susana.
But food is only one part the economic equation. Like the rest of us, residents of Santa Cruz del Islote also have bills to pay for a generator. Rocio Baros de Hoyas is president of the island’s community council. When her father passed away, she came to live on the island to continue his work.
“I came from a pacifist mother, and a father who liked to help people out. He was a man who gave everything for the island — he got us our first power generator and that motivated me to help the community.
“The community has to help us buy fuel and pay the service provider. Collecting the money requires going from house to house. It depends on what you have at home, that’s how you pay. A person who has a freezer pays 1000 pesos. Those who have a refrigerator pay 500 more. I’ve noticed that in the city people collect money to drink, to party, but here people collect money to help those who don’t have the resources.”
— Rocio Baros de Hoyas, President, Santa Cruz del Islote Community Council
Educating the island’s future
Every action is an opportunity to teach by example — and children learn by imitation. While Santa Cruz Del Islote doesn’t have a high school yet, children are still taught from an early age from kindergarten through junior school.
“We like each other a lot here, we are friendly. People who come and stay fall in love with the island because of what people are like. My mother died when I was 5. I had very little time with her, what she left me was to teach children to be better people, to love others without expecting anything in return.” says Caterine, one of the island’s kindergarten teachers.
By focusing on sharing and love, the teachers of the island hope to grow the lessons of sustainability — not just on the island, but for all. The islanders police themselves, and it starts by learning to care for the world and others around them.
“I’m Karelis. I’ve lived here since I was born. Caterine is my cousin. It comes naturally to me to dedicate my life to children. I teach them manners. I teach them to play, to sing. I like taking care of children so I can teach them that they should respect other people.
“Children are the future of the island and that’s why there is no violence, here you can go out at any time of day and nothing will happen to you. They see how we live and that’s how they grow up.”
— Karelis, Kindergarten Teacher
Deivis Zuniga Pena is one of the island’s volunteer coaches.
“My name is Deivis Zuniga Pena. I was born on the island in ’79. I’ve liked soccer since I was a little kid — my grain of sand that I provide to the children is to first teach them about discipline and study. Since we don’t have a movie theatre and we don’t have a park to play at, I want to change the idea that there is simply no entertainment
“Right now what we have is this small pitch and we also play sports all over the island, running around. No one, not the government or any other entity pays me to be a coach or for teaching these kids. I just want to do it. That’s what we’re like here. We try to work with humility.”
— Deivis Zuniga Pena, Volunteer Coach
The island has a small hospital with facilities for vaccination, general health and dentistry. Medical experts periodically arrive from offshore — but babies are delivered here by the island’s midwives. Marciana Hidalgo Castillo is one of them.
“My aunt was the town’s midwife. She said to me after, let’s go so you can learn how to deliver children. And she took me and I learned the profession of delivering children. And thank god, all of the children have lived and I’ve even had to deliver some of their children.
“For those who come and visit us here, like I’ve done all my life, is to show love, understanding, affection and coexistence. These are the things I most like to show those who come here”
— Marciana Hidalgo Castillo, Midwife
Ensuring a better future for everyone begins by taking care of their children. Sustainable development means investing in those who will guarantee its development in the future.
That’s the reason behind the School of Sustainability. Thank you to the islanders, Bancolombia, Google, and SanchoBBDO.
