The breath of Nicole Macas - a.k.a. Lady - is taken away as she enters the water in Santa Elena. Surrounded by the green and lush seaweed species Kappaphycus (k.) alvarezii, Lady, like the seaweed, is flourishing and full of life, entranced by the surrounding mariculture.
K. alavarezii was brought to Ecuador by a shrimp company that was unable to sustain the cultivation due to licensing laws. A fishing cooperative took over, and the k. alavarezii prospered with necessary government funding for research and development. After writing her thesis on enhancing the production of Kappaphycus alvarezii using spacial planning, Lady sees the culture for the first time after traveling nearly three hours to an aquaculture cooperative in Santa Elena.