Written by Jeanne Chaussee
Guadalajara Reporter, Saturday, 21 June 2008
The adage “Teach a Woman to Fish,” relating to the necessity of modern women to learn to prosper, has been taken a step further by Lakeside physician Dr. Maria Elena Echerveste.
Echerveste’s new project “Teach a Woman to Raise a Fish” encompasses a fish farm that she has built in the Ejido la Ciruelera neighborhood in the upper reaches of Riberas del Pilar.
Doctor Maria Elena Echeverste and her son Memo feed fingerling fish at a new fish farm she has created to benefit the women in the Ejido La Ciruelera area of Riberas del Pilar. Photo by K. Morris.Because Echerveste tends to the health of many of her neighbors, she has come to the conclusion that a project like this would serve not one purpose, but two.
“The fish can provide much needed protein to the local women and their families and selling the mature fish can provide them with much-needed extra income,” says Echerveste. “They will be able to invest in the project by providing the labor necessary for raising the fish. It will be close to home so their families won’t be left alone and they won’t have to have transportation to work.”
Putting the project together hasn’t been easy but Echerveste has been determined to make it work. The property used for the project is on loan from local resident Jaime Gonzalez. The state government came up with 140,000 pesos, which she invested in three large tanks. Rather than start off with pumps for all three tanks, she kept some of the money aside for a security fence to keep the project safe. Since she has only one pump and one filter (they cost 5,000 pesos), she has only one tank currently in use.
The fish are purchased as fingerlings from a fishery in Jamay, where the food is also bought. The tiny fish keep the good doctor busy. The 600 fingerlings now residing in the new tank must be fed every two hours from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.
She chose the Talapia breed. “They are relatively easy to raise, are disease resistant and will grow to a half kilo in four months,” she says.
The fingerlings cost about 70 centavos each and will probably sell for about 45 pesos a kilo.
The fish farm is well underway but could use some donations to take it further. To visit the farm or to make a donation to a project started by and for your Mexican neighbors, call Echeveste at (33) 3407-0042 (she speaks English) or email her at lagranja007@prodigy.net.mx.