Photo: ProActivo Magazine
This achievement highlights the positive impact of the project, which prevailed among major initiatives of mining companies from all over the country. The award ceremony was held on August 23, 2024.
Sustainable Mala has positioned itself as a model of collaboration with the private sector, designed to contribute to improving the living conditions of the population by diversifying their sources of income, promoting eco-business, conservation and use of their ecosystems.
What makes this project stand out is its comprehensive approach, which addresses multiple dimensions of community development, such as sustainable tourism, productive development, waste management and the provision of drinking water. It is an initiative that fosters sustainable and lasting economic opportunities.
Focus on Triple Impact
The project seeks to ensure that each of its interventions has a triple impact: (i) on the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, (ii) economically by diversifying sources of income, and (iii) socially by generating sustainable self-employment opportunities. Under the leadership of project coordinator Erick Romero, the strategies implemented have effectively reconciled public and private interests.
“We have been applying the ‘working with people’ methodology, which incorporates people as the central axis to guarantee the sustainability of the project, that is, we involve the population from the planning stage, ensuring that they take ownership of the project,” explains Romero.
The reputation and trust that Compañía Minera Condestable has established with the population, together with Profonanpe’s execution of the project, have been fundamental to the success of the initiative. Romero states:
“The project has 18 months of execution and it is important to highlight and emphasize that the articulated work with stakeholders has been the basis for achieving results in the short term.”
This focus on collaboration not only improves project acceptance, but also ensures that interventions are sustainable over time. By fostering active participation and a sense of ownership, the foundations are laid for long-term sustainable development, reflecting the fundamental principles of social management in communities.
Future goals
By December 2024, Sustainable Mala plans to establish two additional eco-businesses, one of them linked to the production of anti-anemia cookies, using bovine blood from the municipal slaughterhouse and apples. Another of the eco-businesses that will be promoted is the production of flour for farm animal feed based on organic waste. They will also reforest the Mala River with bamboo, which has the capacity to strengthen and consolidate the soil and subsoil, thus preventing the loss of agricultural land and crops due to erosion and landslides.
In relation to sustainable tourism, we will promote the implementation of the first tourist circuit in the district and its incorporation into MINCETUR’s “Y tú qué planes” program. Finally, in these last months of the year, equipment will be provided to the community’s annexes in order to contribute to the improvement of the drinking water supply.
Five years from now, the project aims to complete its overall design, ensure that each intervention generates a triple impact and contribute to positively transforming the lives of the people of the Mala Rural Community.
This recognition reaffirms the commitment of Profonanpe and Compañía Minera Condestable to continue promoting projects that integrate economic development and environmental conservation. Sustainable Mala is an example of how cooperation between sectors can generate transformative results for people’s lives.
Photo: ProActivo Magazine
