A brief history of how Cento Ecologico Akumal (CEA) came to be.

CEA was created with a generous donation of land and buildings by the Akumal Club de Yates. The 33 members of the Akumal Yacht Club have allowed CEA to grow on its own. They have involved themselves primarily with the improvement of the property, so CEA will continue to be able to support itself, into the future. In 1958, Don Pablo Bush came to the Caribbean coast of the Yucatan Peninsula by boat from Cozumel. Don Pablo was looking for sunken treasure from the wreck of the Matanceros which is located off the DIF beach just south of Akumal. Don Pablo made his camp at Akumal. Akumal was a camp armed against marauding Maya looking for gold.

Akumal, the place of the turtle in Maya, was then a coco plantation. The family Tun took care of the plantation and to do so they traveled on a path in the jungle from Valladolid to Akumal. Some time after he purchased Akumal and more property south to Xel Ha, Don Pablo Bush and his friends created the Club de Yates Akumal. This was the Akumal Yacht Club. The club had no yacht. However, the Club de Yates owned 4 hectares of Akumal property with rentable buildings. The rental of this property now provides an income for CEA's programs. The property begins at the west side of La Cancha and extends east to the edge of The CEA Information Center. The cancha area was the original housing for the workers at Akumal.

In July 1993, the Club de Yates Akumal retook control of their property which had been under contract for fifteen years. This move required a large sum of money acquired through the sale of a small parcel of property which also belonged to the Club de Yates Akumal. Once the property was returned to Club de Yates, the question was what to do with it? After much discussion, it was agreed that the property would be used for the creation of an ecological center. So, Centro Ecológico Akumal, CEA, was born.

Since then they have been active in local conservation, beach restoration, turtle research, recycling programs, educational programs, and many other programs and activities that ensure in sustaining the flora, fauna, and marine life that is so significant to our local ecosystems. CEA recently helped celebrate the Fourth Annual Marine Turtle Festival in Tulúm, on October 12th through the 14th. During those days, the main street of Tulúm was filled with cultural events, beach clean-up, and a massive turtle release (1,500 hatchlings) from X'cacel Beach. Thank you to the work of Mauricio Bautista, the CEA Educational Program Coordinator, and Armando Lorences, the CEA Marine Turtle Program Coordinator, CEA was able to participate during the three day festival.  

The CEA booth had presentations, games, and plays, to educate and explain to the community the importance of turtles in our ecosystems. All of the staff members and volunteers presented a children’s play, Amigos de las Tortugas, where the kids were invited to join in becoming “Friends of the Turtles.” They were eligible for the CEA new kids' membership, which includes a 20% discount on their first purchase at the CEA EcoStore. The donation for children’s memberships is $2.00 US, and can be purchased at the CEA Information Center. CEA would like to thank all of the volunteers, participants, and the community for making the Fourth Annual Marine Turtle Festival a complete success! 

All photos and information are courtesy of Centro Ecologico Akumal; a non-profit organization. For more information, or to find out how to get involved please visit: www.ceakumal.org

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