Amigos de Jaltemba

Los Amigos de Jaltemba is a community service organization comprised of residents, both Mexican and Ex-Pats, who live and work in the several communities surrounding Jaltemba Bay.

Los Amigos is responsible for and actively engaged in several community efforts to improve and enhance the lives of the people who live in the Jaltemba Bay area.

Jaltemba Bay is situated on the West coast of the Pacific Ocean approximately 60 kilometers North of Puerto Vallarta in the State of Nayarit.  This area, which encompasses about 100 miles of coastline, is now referred to as "Riviera Nayarit."  We like to think that Jaltemba Bay is the "Jewel" in the crown of the "Riviera Nayarit."

The several communities which lie along the shores of Jaltemba Bay make up a diverse but delightful string of colorful and eclectic towns. They are, from South to North, Los Ayala, Rincon de Guayabitos, La Peñita de Jaltemba and La Colonia.

Education Committee

Our Education Committee has completed a number of projects at local schools – ranging from repairing a wall that was a danger to students to building an entirely new kindergarten.

Goals are to provide better education in our community, to empower parents and teachers to help their children to a better education, and to develop leadership skills of students, parents and teachers.

The Education Committee initiates a process in January of each year in which all of the schools in La Peñita and La Colonia and each year and asks them to both participate in the work of the Committee and to submit projects for consideration for funding. The Committee then prioritizes the projects through a process which involved the Parent’s Council from each school, as well the Director (or a representative) from each school.

The initiative also has another more lasting benefit. It has empowered parents by not only having them set the priorities in terms of funding but also by assisting them to initiate their own funding activities. Their major fundraiser is the annual Gran Bazar which takes place each Fall.. Besides undertaking fundraising, parents are providing volunteer labour and, along with local businesses, contributing supplies. Parents are required to contribute 20% of the cost of every project.

The Committee also carries out classroom based projects, implementing an annual art contest which is designed to help motivate students.

For more information, send Saul Duran Bernal an email, johan.skana@gmail.com.

Recycling

The Plastics Recycling Program that Los Amigos first put in place in 2008 continues to gain momentum.

What began as purely a school-based program covering only La Peñita has now been expanded to the community at large and the coverage area has been expanded to include Guayabitos and Los Ayala.  We are now collecting an average of 4,000 kilos of plastics each month.

 Beginning in February, 2011 we have now started to collect cardboard for recycling as well. The driver (Tavo) picks up at various business, bungalows and hotels and will now collect cardboard if left beside the existing baskets on the streets.

Collection days:

    Guayabitos – Tuesdays
    Los Ayala – Tuesdays
    La Peñita – Wednesdays
    La Colonia – Wednesdays

Individuals are asked to put out the cardboard only on collection days and break down boxes if at all possible.

Students are asked to bring their plastics to school each Thursday. Los Amigos then arranges for the plastics to be picked up each Friday.

The Recycling Committee of Los Amigos is always looking for volunteers to help with the Basket Making Workshops.

For more information, send Carol Wallace an email, sallypresent@gmail.com.

Tianguis Project

Look for the Los Amigos booth at Thursday's Tianguis in La Peñita and select one of our new t-shirts – great for you, great gifts!

Come by to say hello and find out more about the work of Los Amigos. Los Amigos de La Peñita maintains the booth throughout the winter season.

In 2010 we improved the kiosk in such a way as to provide each of our committees with a more graphic display of their key messages to the public.  We have also made a concerted effort to maximize public exposure to our critical activities and to formalize our kiosk operation into an operating committee of Los Amigos.  This kiosk continues to provide an excellent venue to help raise funds.

For more information, send Peter Martin an email, bobpeter1@gmail.com.

Scholarships

In support of the objective of the Los Amigos de La Peñita Scholarship Program, the mission is to encourage students to participate in local activities, to develop community leaders, to provide educational support to local young people and to encourage young students to participate in the Los Amigos de La Peñita organization.

A total of 36 students have been selected to receive scholarships from Los Amigos for the 2011/12 school year.  They were selected from the 89 individuals who applied.

All of these young people have committed to doing volunteer work on various community projects.

For more information, send Zobeida Barrera Lozano an email, zobeidab@hotmail.com.

Economic Development

The Jaltemba Economic Development Initiative Committee is working on a number of initiatives to attract jobs to the Jaltemba Bay area.

They have embarked on a Buy Local Campaign producing shopping bags, posters and a weekly flyer advertising specials at local merchants – all designed to encourage both seasonal and local residents to do more of their shopping in Jaltemba Bay.

They are also working to attract a major employer to Jaltemba Bay to produce additional value-added agricultural products.

The goal of the Jaltemba Economic Development Initiative (JEDI) Committee is to create employment by attracting for-profit corporations, non-profit ventures, government grants or a combination of the three, that would create year-round job opportunities for women and their families.

For more information, send Agneta Dyck an email, agneta@pathways-training.com.

EcoPark & Community Liason

On February 25, 2010 Señor Gobernador Ney González Sánchez, Governor of the State of Nayarit officially opened “Unidad Deportiva Corazon de La Riviera”, formerly (and still unofficially) known as the EcoPark.

The park contains a soccer field, basketball court, volleyball courts, a playground and a walking track. There are covered stands, washrooms and a grand entrance.

It has become a focal point for the community and a center for community events. Less than two years earlier, the "park" was a rock strewn field with a beat-up basketball court and some rusted playground equipment.

The park is located in Colonia Pescadores at the corner of corner of C. Mazatlan and B. Acapulco. Los Amigos sees the park as a "thank you" to the children of the community for their participation in our Recycling Program.

Los Amigos was pleased to work in cooperation with the merchants who contributed supplies, the Delegacion, the local Rotary Club and the many dedicated neighbours who pitched in to help make this project a reality.

For more information, send Johan Nielsen an email, johan.skana@gmail.com.

Clean-up Committee

In order to better promote La Peñita to national and international tourists and in order to instill community pride among La Peñita residents, the Los Amigos Cleanup Committee made "Clean La Peñita Beach Campaign" their priority project.

The Clean-Up Committee has initiated a number of activities.

A drive was organized to clean the lateral from Bancomer to the Tukkan Restaurant. Merchants donated 100 pesos each and individuals from the Rehabilitation Centre were hired to do the work. Palm trees were painted, the streets were cleaned and the curbs were painted.

At least partly as a result of lobbying from Los Amigos, two new garbage trucks were provided to La Peñita, 30 new garbage cans in place on Avenida Emiliano Zapata, and a city bylaw was passed to fine anyone responsible for improper discarding of garbage.

For more information, send Roberto Gil de Montes an email, echopk@mac.com.

Become a Member – Join a Committee – Get involved – Donate your time and/or money.  We can use your help.

Email us with your name, address, telephone number if you have one, and tell us how you would like to help out.

Do you want to join Los Amigos? Our bylaws make you a full member upon attending your second meeting. You can print our membership application by clicking here and bring it to a general meeting or a meeting of one of our Committees.

Now it's easy to support the work of Los Amigos.

By clicking on the link above, you can securely donate funds to the organization through PayPal. Please note that the donation will be in pesos.

You can specify which initiative you want your monies to support – or you can make a general donation and let the organization determine where the funds can best be put to use. If you want to direct your donation to a specific initiative, simply indicate this in the "Special Instructions" field.

Thanks in advance for your generosity.

Again, please note that your contribution is in Mexican Pesos and not Dollars.