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The Birth of the Trade Center of the Americas
In April 2020, with the experience I had gained and a renewed focus on sustainability, I founded the Trade Center of the Americas.
The mission was clear: to create economic growth opportunities for entrepreneurs through production and export, grounded in ethics and sustainability.
Very soon, I realized something essential: while the word “sustainability” had the same definition everywhere, its meaning and value were not the same in the U.S. as in Latin America.
For rural entrepreneurs in Latin America, sustainability was not an abstract concept. It was daily life. It meant:
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Natural Resources: They are precious and valued because climate change impacts families and communities directly, every single day.
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Ancestral Values: Water, soil, plants, and the ecosystem are honored throughout the production cycle.
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Laws and Policies: Many Latin American countries have enacted environmental laws—even granting legal rights to nature.
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Social Inclusion: Unlike in the U.S., where technology often replaces workers, sustainability in Latin America means protecting jobs and livelihoods.
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Human Rights: Though enshrined in constitutions, lack of awareness in rural communities often leads to gaps in enforcement.
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Women’s Inclusion: Over 60% of the agricultural workforce is made up of women, making sustainability a gender issue as well.
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Public Safety: Work opportunities reduce risks of crime among children and youth.
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Resilience to Organized Crime: Sustainability requires public policies that protect entrepreneurs from narco-economies and transnational crime, which devastate rural economies.
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Natural Advantage: Fertile land, microclimates, biodiversity, and social ecosystems favor production—but without safety and protection, these advantages are lost.
Closing Reflection: For Latin America, sustainability is not just a global standard. It is a daily fight to survive, to include, and to prosper amid difficult realities.
Meet Silvia Ontaneda
I grew up believing the earth is not something to be exploited, but something to be honored. From my parents I learned that sustainability is not a luxury — it’s a way of life: recycle, sow, protect water, and value food. That early love for nature shaped my path as a human rights lawyer, devoted to defending both people and Pachamama.
My journey as a diplomat and negotiator showed me something clear: Latin America must lead with its own sustainability standards. That vision gave birth to WeFairTrade Academy, a platform to train and empower producers and communities. It later evolved into ETHICA, an ethical and sustainable certification ensuring full transparency in supply chains.
This story is not only mine. It belongs to the farmers, fishermen, and entrepreneurs I’ve met — people who fight every day against climate, poverty, and organized crime. They embody resilience and hope. This blog honors them and carries a simple message: fair and humane trade.
My Journey in the World of Sustainable Living
Planting the seed
In 2019, after three years of working as a consultant on community development projects with rural governments in Ecuador, Mexico, El Salvador, and Guatemala, I made a key decision: to dedicate myself entirely to my true passion—creating business opportunities through empowerment and community organization.
My vision was clear: to help small entrepreneurs organize themselves, scale their production, and open the path to export.
The first group I worked with was a community of artisanal fishermen in Manabí, Ecuador. They lacked communal refrigeration systems, which meant their products spoiled quickly, and every effort to become self-sustaining failed. At the same time, Chinese fishing fleets were approaching Ecuador’s coasts, imposing abusive prices and unfair payment conditions. Entire fishing communities were trapped in cycles of poverty.
Even more striking was how this same pattern repeated itself across other perishable production chains—whether seafood, fruits, or vegetables.
Reflexion: That’s when I realized that the problem wasn’t production—it was connection. These communities needed direct access to fair and sustainable markets.
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