About us
Our Vision – a sustainable Galapagos –
is to help establish an ecologically sustainable and stable social economy for the Galapagos archipelago by providing support in the education, conservation and development sectors.
Our mission – conservation through education –
is to work in the island of Isabela to generate educational, economic and social benefits for the community of Puerto Villamil. IOI will assist local institutions with the execution of existing long term projects, re-enforce management and development of the education sector, and help the community further investigate human environmental interaction to increase understanding and protection of the local environment, thus generating benefits for the eco-system as well as for the local eco-tourism.
What We Do
IOI's operations take place in Puerto Villamil and around Isabela. IOI is a Florida-based non-profit organization that operates in close affiliation with leading international academic institutions in the US and Europe.
IOI’s operations take place in Puerto Villamil and around Isabela. IOI is a Florida-based non-profit organization that operates in close affiliation with leading international academic institutions in the US and Europe for the exchange of professors, students, and researchers.
IOI offers an institutional framework for supporting the growth of community concepts and strategies for grassroots ecotourism based on stewardship and participatory management to save the ecology.
IOI is financially independent and is currently raising a critical fund base from which to give out scholarships and expand community projects over the next years.
To achieve our mission we run several programs and projects:
- Secondary Education: IOI has a cooperation with the Colegio Frey de Azkunaga providing the high school with two full time volunteer teachers working in the English department. This cooperation has grown and IOI now also providing teacher training for capacity building and re-structuring of the curriculum.
- Higher Education: Through our partner the Polytechnic University of Guayaquil – ESPOL – IOI offers semester-long undergraduate university programs, spring and fall. All semester long students stay with local host families as part of the intercultural exchange, and may join in community service and conservation projects for internship credits. IOI also offers winter intersession, Spring Break and summer classes (see Study at IOI tab in the left navigation panel)
- Library: There are no bookstores and there is (was!) no public library. Books – the cornerstone of education, entertainment and research are now available through the development of our public library. Here IOI also aims to run seminars where community members discuss timely topics and generate feedback during special events and discussions exploring difference and commonalities, local development and conservation strategies.
- Research: IOI provides a platform for researchers to address locally relevant topics, employing local assistants. Research is conducted in consultation with the Galapagos National Park and the Charles Darwin Foundation and could includes areas such as environmental change Fisheries, sustainable urban planning and human environment interactions.