Can a single experience change the way you see the world? For Jessica Mosquera, the answer is yes. Her story—deeply rooted in the land and the heart of the mangrove—shows us how education, when it is collective, conscious, and gender-focused, can move mountains. This is the story of a woman touched by nature, by other women, and by the conviction that to transform is to resist.
"My name is Jessica Mosquera, and if life has taught me anything, it’s that our connection with nature can change everything—from how we see the world to how we choose to inhabit it."
This is how the story begins for a woman who found in education not only a personal path but a tool for collective transformation. From a young age, she learned that knowledge is cultivated just like a fertile plot of land.
Jessica shares her story:
“Since I was little, I was a curious child, happy among trees and dirt roads. My father, a farmer, would take us to the fields and teach us with his hands what the land could give. We are seven siblings—six girls and one boy—and we had the privilege of growing up with a loving full-time mother and a father who always supported our education, even through university. That solid foundation shaped my path.”
In 2016, she arrived in the municipality to work as an environmental technician. “The truth is, I knew very little about mangroves back then. It was a leader of a crabbers' association who opened my eyes: he spoke about the ecosystem with such contagious passion. And when I started visiting the area, I was struck by the human warmth I encountered.”
That relationship of mutual respect with the crabbers’ associations was built over years. Jessica’s environmental commitment deepened when she took part in a national youth gathering in Loja, where she met young people with a strong sense of activism. “There, I learned what a Biosphere Reserve was, and I realized that conservation was my path.”
The School Women Rhizomes of Life came to her as an unexpected opportunity, thanks to the coordinator of the Cajas Massif Biosphere Reserve. He was looking for women to participate in a training program, and Jessica immediately thought of some mangrove leaders. But they couldn’t leave their homes—they are caretakers, responsible for their families, and couldn’t be away for so many days. “Even though I tried to show them the value of the experience, they chose to stay. So, I decided to take on the challenge myself.”
“I accepted, with some fear. As a professional, I worried I might be seen as an outsider. I thought, ‘Will I fit in among women who come from the mangrove’s extractive work?’ But I found the opposite. They welcomed me with open arms and hearts. They shared what little they had, expecting nothing in return. I felt part of the group.”
Being at the School Women Rhizomes of Life was a revelatory experience. Hearing her companions’ life stories shook her. “Women who had been through very hard times, but who continued to fight. I remember an older woman crying as she stepped into a university for the first time, saying it was a dream come true. Another told me it was the first time she had turned on a computer. Things that were normal for me were huge milestones for them. That touched me deeply. It changed my perspective.”
At the school, they also reflected on patriarchy and the deeply rooted machismo in their communities. “Girls grow up being told they should marry and raise children, that studying is unnecessary. Women repeat the patterns they saw in their mothers and grandmothers. But school brought these realities to the surface. It forced us to face what we often prefer to ignore.”
When Jessica returned to her territory, she brought those lessons with her. She began to replicate what she had learned, and it was like reliving emotions from school. “I heard similar stories, I saw inequality reflected in the very structure of organizations: associations with 150 male members and only two women, whose efforts to join had been ignored for years. Until a new leader came—someone with awareness and deep roots in the mangrove—and they were finally able to raise their voices.”
Today, those women are respected leaders. “They stood up to their husbands, to their communities, and overcame fear. One of them told me her husband wouldn’t let her study, but she rebelled and pushed forward. Now she leads her community, manages projects, and is unafraid to take the microphone and speak before institutions.”
The School Women Rhizomes of Life gave Jessica powerful tools. “It taught me to work with a socio-ecological approach, to see ourselves as part of nature—not above it. To understand that the climate crisis is already here, affecting us. And that the response must be collective, rooted in networks, and the recovery of ancestral knowledge.”
“There are many opportunities in the territory. The mangrove is not only a source of biodiversity, but it is also identity, culture, cuisine, and resilience. And it is women who sustain it, who live it, who protect it.”
Today, Jessica dreams of a physical space in the community where these women can gather, grow stronger, and build alliances. “I dream of a support network among them. I know they have the capacity, the wisdom, and the strength to make it happen.”
“They just need to be heard. The world only needs to understand what the school taught me: to educate is to transform, and to transform is to resist—together,” says Jessica.
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Jessica returned to her territory with a new vision. She began replicating what she had learned, building bridges, and promoting women’s leadership where once there was only silence. Today, these women are leaders, managers, role models. And Jessica is one of them—planting knowledge, harvesting hope.
