About us
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 to offer 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.
The Isabela Oceanographic Institute was founded as a non-governmental Florida-based nonprofit in 2006 and has as its mission promoting conservation through education. The organization operates in the small fishing community of Puerto Villamil, Isabela. We connect international entities and academic institutions with local government bodies and organizations for the common goal of supporting the development of community concepts and strategies which encourage good stewardship and participatory management of this unique natural and social environment. We run several outreach programs and projects:
- Higher education – providing study abroad experiences to university students
- Formal education – contracting professional English teachers for local school system
- Public education – coordinating courses and workshops of their choosing for local residents
- Developing and stocking a (new) public library with necessary materials
- Social development – supporting an after-school education center, sponsoring public sports, arts, environmental education and recreational programs
Our services include:
- Encouraging intercultural and lingual exchange – by placing students with local host families and foreign teachers in local schools
- Helping integrate our international study and volunteer participants into the Isabela community through service learning and locally-driven projects
- Working closely with the government of Isabela and fellow organizations to empower the local community by providing workshops, programs and events, and infrastructure
- Supporting small-scale and locally-operated exploration of the Galapagos Islands and mainland Ecuador by coordinating travel, transportation, activities, lodging and meals with local operators
- Providing facilities including class- and conference rooms; laboratory-, gear-, maintenance-, and storage areas; and housing for faculty, TAs, RAs, and volunteers
- Acquiring the necessary permissions to bring persons from abroad to study or volunteer in the Galapagos and Ecuador