IOI's Strategic Partnership Advisor, Daniel Ponce Taylor, ponders what "regeneration" means today, as we slowly move forward with a new version of "normal."
At IOI, one way that we're "regenerating study abroad" is by using our regenerative agriculture project to not only teach students about its techniques and benefits but to also counterbalance the impact that study abroad travel has on the planet.
Ready to join the regenerative revolution?
Check out the article to learn more.
DEAR IOI COMMUNITY
As we enter the last quarter of 2020, it feels like a corner might be turned soon on a more-than-tumultuous year. From political turmoil to civic unrest, from lack of life-work-balance to working at home, from stock market crash to record recoveries on Wall (but not Main) Street. And all that before the backdrop of a Q4 that might yet pack the biggest punch, with US elections upcoming and societies moving life indoors as winter approaches in the northern hemisphere.
IOI has undergone a similar roller-coaster ride. On the coat-tails of last year's shift to align our programs with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we started the year by implementing our industry-leading 2022 Carbon Negative Initiative. Then came Covid, along with evacuations just ahead of border closures and ever-extending program shut-downs for the rest of 2020. I'll spare you the gory details, but we had to cut both our budget and our fixed cost by over two thirds. Such radical cuts are painful of course, mainly with regards to staffing. At one point we were a team of 14—currently, we are down to a single full-time employee holding down the fort in Galapagos.
But, we also found opportunity and made important progress. While society at large has found new vigor in opposing the world's injustices, IOI's community came together to help us survive, continue with innovation, and keep our spirits up during this time of crisis. Our relentless staff (now working part-time or volunteering) has been putting in countless hours of their time to continue fulfilling our commitments on the ground, as well as our program development. The government in Ecuador realized the importance of food sovereignty in the Galapagos, and IOI’s sustainable agriculture program got a long-awaited, major boost through their support. Our cost-cutting demanded a move to new facilities, which has left us in beautiful, new, and expanded installations in an even better location. We updated our health and safety protocols to state-of-the-art standards, including bubble approaches and frequent testing. Last, but not least, in the face of continued travel restrictions (SPOILER ALERT) we are developing new online programs that will be launched in November, which can stand as individual programs or serve as enhancements to our existing programming after opening our doors again in January.
DEAR IOI COMMUNITY
2020 has been a challenging year, particularly for the travel industry. After a somewhat desperate summer—and with your help—IOI has now secured funding to remain alive for the rest of the year, despite all study abroad and volunteering programs being closed until 2021.
Times of change are always a good moment to step back and reflect upon the former status quo. As I am writing this letter, the dire need for action on climate change is more urgent than ever. California is experiencing its worst fires on record while the Gulf Coast is battered by a record seventh named storm to make landfall in the US before the end of August (previous record was six in 1916). Both events are directly related to climate change.
While IOI is of course a sustainable development NGO, most of our funding comes from educational travel in study abroad and volunteering. How do sustainable development and carbon-emissions-heavy funding combine, you ask? So have we, and IOI is striving to be part of the solution to climate change, perhaps the biggest challenge of our time. In anticipation of reopening in 2021, IOI is moving forward with its Carbon Negative 2022 Initiative, leading by example in a traditionally emissions-heavy industry.
It is inspirational to see that more and more large organizations are also picking up some of the sustainable practices that IOI has been promoting. Sustainability leaders in their traditionally carbon-emissions-heavy industries, Patagonia and White Oak Pastures have made impressive progress in the cotton/apparel and meat production industries, respectively.
As you will read below, despite heavy cutbacks, our local projects and our initiatives to promote sustainable agriculture and biodiversity protection are being pushed forward as our remaining staff maintains our project work. Stay tuned for the launch of an exciting online education campaign that combines our field experiences with pre-arrival courses and internships.
Keep up the positive spirit—we’ll get through this together.
