Sustainable Local Development

We are a pillar of the region, ensuring eco-friendly economic growth and educating future generations to be stewards of their natural heritage

Sustainable Development by the numbers:

children impacted by Bondad

covered by fire prevention

0 ha

community workshop attendees

small vendors in our shop

Some of our current projects in this area include:

Your 2026 donations to our Sustainable Local Development program area will support investments including:

Scholarships to cover tuition fees and school supplies for local children
Training, equipment and salary stipends for local fire brigades
Forest management crews, particularly cutting back brush along roadways, to reduce the risk of wildfire
Staffing, transportation, and materials for community education workshops

Link above is for tax-deductible donations in the USA. For other geographies or any questions related to our impact work and philanthropic opportunities, please contact our Head of Fundraising, Christopher Jacobs, by email at christopherj@vbgardens.

Bondad: Acts of kindness for our local schools

The Vallarta Botanical Garden is committed to driving sustainable economic development across the rural communities of Cabo Corrientes. Here, local public schools languish without outside funding, as they receive almost no government assistance or resources for even basic needs.

VBG’s Bondad (Kindness) program provides critical funding for local public schools.

Since 2022 Bondad has built a new school cafeteria serving 300 students daily in the town El Tuito, constructed indoor bathrooms for the remote schoolhouse in the village of Corrales, created scholarships (Becas) for local kids to pay school fees, purchased back-to-school supplies and laptops for teachers, and replaced school roofs destroyed by 2023’s Hurricane Lidia.

Launched with a special donation from Mr. David McCann of Vancouver, Canada, Bondad’s lifechanging impact on children around the region is all thanks to your donations.

Disaster Preparedness, Response, and Recovery

VBG partners with and provides funding to local first responders and firefighters in Cabo Corrientes and has a track record of advocating sustainable forest management and fire prevention efforts across the municipality. Given the threat of fires, cleaning and prevention campaigns are carried out through signage that prohibits burning, as well as fencing that limits access to protection areas.

JESUS TO ADD MORE

Community Education: Seeding a Conservation Economy

Visitors want to enjoy the spectacular verdant landscapes and pristine beaches of Cabo Corrientes, and residents deserve economic growth and stability. The Vallarta Botanical Gardens has been working for the last two decades to engage local communities and serve as a model for sustainable tourism.

VBG currently conducts outreach to local communities to make sure they too have access to opportunities in the Gardens to enjoy and learn about their natural heritage and resources and to deepen their connection with that patrimony.

Throughout the year we run our own workshops as well as participating in community events where we educate residents of nearby towns and villages on how to identify rare endemic species, the importance of protecting the natural resources of the area, and steps they can take to do so.

We are looking to expand our programing demonstrating the economic value of healthy ecosystems, whether from eco-tourism, or valuable forest crops like vanilla.

In addition, as carbon sinks, standing forests are critical to combating climate change; VBG in the future aims to undertake detailed measurement of the mitigation value of its protected lands, and potentially be a pioneer for carbon financing in the municipality, a model which could offer environmental and economic value to surrounding communities and local landowners more broadly.

Sourcing from Small and Local Mexican Vendors

Whether the ingredients in our restaurant, the artisan handicrafts for sale in our gift shop, or the painted tiles and carved stones decorating the Gardens itself, VBG is committed to working with small Mexican farmers and entrepreneurs wherever possible.

For example, in our gift shop, we source from the following creators local to Puerto Vallarta; and many more similar artisans across Mexico:

Café Capomo from Tomatlán
Café Yolanda – coffee from Ixtlahuahuey
Chocomuseo, chocolates from Puerto Vallarta
Gerardo Ortega artisan from Guadalajara
Honey from Talit natural products
Jaqueline Sanchez resin artist from Sayulita
Luna Sartiaguin, ceramacist from Tuito
“Moonwitch Essentials” scented candles and natural products by artist Araceli Covarrubias from Puerto Vallarta
Mundo de azulejos from Puerto Vallarta
Red gate ceramics from Puerto Vallarta
Vallarta Factory
World of pewter from Puerto Vallarta