Interview with Dave Aabo, founder of Waves for Development
WAVES for Development believes that surf
travel should benefit the people and community where it happens.
Hello
Dave, thanks for joining us today. You organize sustainable surf tourism
trips to
Peru
. Can you tell us a little bit about how this all got started? What was
the need you were trying to fill?
I started as a Peace Corps
volunteer in
Northern Peru
late 2003 working with different associations of organic coffee farmers in a
variety of business and community development projects. Then in 2006 I
lived in
Lima
and worked as the environment awareness and action program coordinator for
Peace Corps. Along with other volunteers (namely Kevin Fitzpatrick), we
spent our vacation time exploring the beaches and great surf breaks throughout
Peru
. It didn't take long to notice the coastal communities, like many other
rural communities, suffered from poverty and limited education opportunities.
We also noticed that visitors
came to these rural coastal communities to surf, but left after surfing -
leaving the community with no benefit. Upon further investigation into
the education reality, we realized that roughly 30% of the youth in
communities like Lobitos graduated from high school and only a handful go on
to university. The 'moment of obligation' followed shortly thereafter
when the realization came that if anyone was going to use surfing as a tool
for sustainable development I was going to be involved. We believe surf
travel should benefit the people and communities where it happens.
It’s
hard enough to start any venture, but when you have to deal with international
travel and organizations the challenges must have been immense. Can you
share a little bit about what the challenges were to getting WAVES for
Development off the ground?
There have always been
challenges and there continue to be many. First, WAVES for Development
has always been driven by a number of people from all over the world.
Some of the people putting the most work in have never personally met.
Computer mediated communication across countries and cultures is a big
challenge. Google Apps has been a big help in overcoming the challenge. Next,
being patient while maneuvering the legal structures in three different
countries (
Peru
,
Switzerland
, and the
US
) has been challenging too. We're thankful for pro bono legal assistance
in each of the countries - particulary O'Melveny
and Meyers here in NYC. Common to many not-for-profit corporations it
has been a challenge to find significant seed funding and early investors
(apart from in-kind donations).
I
see from your website you’ve been pretty successful in attracting corporate
and private donors. How hard was it to get your first few? What
donors and sponsors are you now trying to reach?
We've been fortunate to connect
with quite a few forward thinking and generous donors. Global Surf
Industries (GSI) is one that warrants a little story. Christian
Prendergast, a surfer and English teacher at the time in Talara, wrote few
emails to a number of surfboard manufacturers explaining the situation in
which local youth couldn't afford surfboards and wetsuits. He asked the
surf companies for help. Mark Kelly from (GSI) responded; he wanted to
learn more. Not long after GSI promised to send a shipping
container full of 400 surfboards. Additionally, a number of staff at GSI
gave up a month's paycheck to cover the shipping to
Peru
. With that, the generous string of in-kind donations began. It
was with relative ease and serendipity that we connected with the original
founders and donors of WAVES.
In terms of who we're trying to
reach now - we've compiled a list of foundations and organizations to contact
once our pending 501c3 status comes through. Additionally, we are
looking for individual leaders to join our President's Council as key
investors.
Can
you tell us a little bit about the difference your program has made down in
Peru
?
I believe the differences our
programs have made are the small victories on the local level. 143 youth have participated in the
programs in Lobitos - which is over half of the youth population.
Anecdotal evidence from volunteers tells us that the youth are really
advancing in their surf ability. Henry, a local ripper, was one of three
participants - because of their involvement with WAVES traveled to a
neighboring community to participate in a regional surf competition. So
far over 44 people have volunteered in Lobitos, hailing from over five
countries. The host family volunteers stay with has opened a small restaurant
to diversify their income.
Another success story is that of
WAVES' local surf instructor/coordinator - Holggers Clavijo. He has been
trained and is now earning an income that supports his family. He has
gone on to teach youth surfboard repair techniques so they can earn money from
skills learned in the Educational Surf program as well.
Additionally,
a number of small businesses are being incubated through the program including
fishing tours and surf photography. We look forward to reporting more and more
local families earning increased income from surf tourism to the area.
What’s your favorite story to tell about this program?
I like talking about how the
program started with the passion and dedication of a handful of surfers from
all over the world united behind a shared vision; an idea put in motion with
only a few emails. In a short amount of time partnerships were formed
with the Peruvian Sport Institute, the Peruvian Surfing Federation and 400
donated surfboards were on their way to launch a surf voluntourism program...
See the next response for more of the story.
What’s
the biggest disaster you’ve had that you can now look back upon and laugh
about?
Fortunately we haven't had any
major 'disasters' to report. The closest thing might be dealing with the
donation of surfboards. There were buyers lining up to purchase the 400
surfboards that were promised to WAVES. The challenge was finding an
inexpensive avenue to quickly get the boards into
Peru
and through customs. Two options became apparent: The Peruvian Sport Institute (IPD) through the Surfing Federation (FENTA)
or the Catholic Church.
I met with the President of the
Peruvian Surfing Federation and had a couple conversations with the bishop in
northern
Peru
and he was surprisingly open to the idea of surfing. He actually wanted
to meet and find out more information about what we had in mind. After
speaking with Mark Kelly from GSI about the two options the potential for
growth with the Surfing IPD was great. Fortunately the President of
FENTA had a great relationship and was well connected with the IPD. The
ball was set in motion and my 3 years in Peace Corps Peru came to a close.
In August 2007 the idea of
partnership agreement was proposed and the donated surfboards had arrived in
Peru
. Longtime WAVES supporter Christina Heyniger from Xola Consulting
rose to the occasion and donated a plane ticket for me to attend a critical
meeting in
Peru
where the framework of the agreement was developed. The support from
unsuspecting sources has been remarkable! Soon after the meeting the
agreement was signed and a few surfboards were given to various schools along the coast. WAVES
'soft launch' in Peru was at the women's WCT championship tour in Mancora
where Peruvian Sofia Mulanovich assisted in the presentation of surfboards to
locals schools in Mancora and Lobitos - the current locations of WAVES
programs in northern Peru.
What’s
the most common response you get from people when you tell them what you do?
A lot of people think it is
really cool. I definitely raise my hand in those situations when people
ask who has a job that matters, is fulfilling, makes a difference, etc.
There are some doubters too. "Oh you're just a bunch of surfers who
want someone else to pay for your surf trips." Not really. The
more they learn about what we do the clearer it becomes that what we're doing
is rooted in theory and tested in practice.
Surfing
as a community development tool - how does it work?
Community
development is a complex issue; we felt called to offer assistance but have
focused on doing so in a sustainable and unique manner. For years, surfers have
visited impoverished communities and wanted to do something to create positive
change but rarely have found an infrastructure for their desire to help other
than sending money or leaving a used surfboard for the local kids.
We've
created a structure for those good intentions which responds to locally
identified needs using local resources. In the case of surfing in
northern
Peru
, the resources are the waves and the people. For example, in Lobitos
during a participatory community analysis the school asked us for help with
English and physical education classes. From that discussion the Education Surf
program curriculum was born.
The
Educational Surf programs provide experiential opportunities for youth and
include: swimming, surfing, English, conservation and entrepreneurship classes.
These classes promote a healthy outlet for expression, an increased value of
nature and skills to benefit from the constant flow of surf tourism to the
area. The goal of the program is to develop local youth into healthy and
empowered adults.
A
big part of program delivery is the involvement of international volunteers;
for some, their very first exposure to community development and philanthropy.
Traveling surfers assist with the classes in addition to enjoying the
traditional elements of tourism. At WAVES, an experiential learning
approach is taken where the volunteer travelers and youth learn by
"doing". A typical class starts with 10-15 minutes of English
or environmental education on the beach. Activities include learning
songs that build English vocabulary, discussing where waves come from and
why plastics are harmful for our oceans. A swim or surf class follows.
The Adventure Voluntourism programs strive to engage travelers with an interest
in surfing and transform their world views through service.
In
addition to the international volunteers helping with classes, local youth
'assistants' also help lead the classes. Considered to be a training
practicum for future leaders of the program, the assistants learn how to teach
surfing and repair surfboards, skills that can be used both to teach visiting
WAVES volunteers as well as other travelers visiting the area. As
mentioned earlier, surf instruction and ding repair represent an income
generation opportunity for local youth. Additionally, the youth
assistants can learn to be guides to natural caves in the area, lead fishing
tours or trips to surrounding communities where goat cheese is produced.
We want to inspire youth to capitalize on existing resources as well as provide
relevant tourism resources in the area.
Cultural
exchange is a key element in our foundation where learning and teaching are
emphasized. Volunteers learn about local cuisine from the host family
they stay with and have an opportunity to improve their Spanish language
skills. Travelers teach English to interested community members and share
their perspectives of their home country. Community members learn what
surf tourists prefer and share their local culture. Consistency and a
constant presence by WAVES builds trust and provides a sound structure for
these learning opportunities.
Who
is your target demographic? Where do they hail from?
18-35 yr olds with interest in
surfing. Environmentally aware consumers. Desire to volunteer and
be socially active. Internationally intrigued. We've had a good
number of Dutch, Swiss and British volunteers. And of course, Americans.
They can come from anywhere. No special skills are needed, but any
Spanish language skills obviously help.
What’s
your next step in growing WAVES for Development?
We've recently launched a
smaller program in another community in northern
Peru
(Mancora) securing a fair wage for local surf instructors. We've been
invited to numerous other communities in
Peru
. We'd like to demonstrate continued success in northern
Peru
then expand to other locations in central and southern
Peru
. Additionally, we've received inquiries from around the world (including
Nicaragua
,
Columbia
,
Galapagos
,
Cameroon
) about replicating the WAVES idea. We'll learn from our experiences in
Peru
perfecting the model, demonstrating concrete impact, replicating it - then
scaling to other countries.
How
is the surfing in
Peru
anyway?
World class. Some go so
far as to say the art of riding waves originated in
Peru
. The
Trujillo
area of
Peru
has a rich surf history evidenced by the caballitos de tortora (reed boats) in
Huanchaco and the long lefts of Chicama found in Puerto Malabrigo. The
archeological sites in the area (
Chan Chan
, Huaca de la Luna, etc.) clearly depict waves and a connection to the ocean
originating from the pre-Incan era. The original wave riding vehicles
aided their fishing efforts, but I would venture to say there was a rewarding
'leisure' aspect to riding the waves into shore after a big catch as well. Since Sophia Mulanovich won the 2004 women's world
championship, surfing has once again been given the limelight in
Peru
.
Thanks
for coming, a great interview. Would you like to take this opportunity to
thank anyone?
While the people and supporters
that have made the WAVES for Development effort so successful up to this point
are too numerous to individually list them all here I would like to especially
thank my wonderful wife Meghan and my parents for the patience, understanding
and support in they have provided without fail.
In
addition to living and working over a year in Africa (
Mauritania
) David has more than four years experience in
Peru
developing tourism initiatives in rural coastal communities and the tropical
mountains of
Northern Peru
. As a Peace Corps volunteer in both places he consulted for a trade
school, researched, wrote and presented feasibility plans on ‘coffee
tourism’ and ‘adventure conservation’ volunteer tourism initiatives and
analyzed and revised the Peace Corps’ environmental project framework and
reporting format.
Conversant in French and fluent in Spanish, he has worked in collaboration with
ProNaturaleza, the Peruvian Foundation for the Conservation of Nature, where he
supported the development and launch of a community-based volunteer vacation
opportunity, providing blended adventure/conservation trips in the Pacaya
Samiria National Reserve. Degrees include: M.S. Organizational Management from
the School for International Training, 2006; B.S. in Business
Administration from
Colorado
State
University
, 2000.
