海角大神

Sargassum, the invasive, sewage-scented seaweed piling up on beaches across the Caribbean, isn鈥檛 something most people look upon kindly.

But for Omar de Jes煤s Vazquez S谩nchez, his first encounter was 鈥渓ove at first sight.鈥� 鈥淓veryone said, 鈥業t smells horrible!鈥� and I remember thinking, 鈥楾here鈥檚 something more here,鈥欌�� says Mr. Vazquez, the founder of Sargablock, a small company in Mexico鈥檚 Yucat谩n Peninsula that transforms the algae into construction blocks.

A record amount of sargassum is turning crystal blue Caribbean coast waters brown and smelling of rotten eggs as it decomposes in tourist spots from Mexico to Caribbean islands and now along the beaches of Florida鈥檚 east coast.

Researchers blame pollution, overdevelopment, and global warming for the seemingly never-ending seaweed invasion that鈥檚 also present in the Atlantic.

In 2015, as part of his gardening business, Mr. Vazquez launched a beach cleanup service to remove the leafy seaweed. But, as its arrival intensified, he started considering how to turn it into something useful, and in 2018 conceived a way to use sargassum in building blocks.听Today he not only sells those blocks to construction projects, but also builds affordable housing in his community.

鈥淲hen I look at Sargablock, it鈥檚 like looking in a mirror,鈥� he says, comparing his company to conquering his personal struggles, including addiction, and briefly, homelessness: 鈥淲hen you have problems with drugs or alcohol, you鈥檙e viewed as a problem for society. No one wants anything to do with you. They look away.鈥澨�

鈥淲hen sargassum started arriving, it created a similar reaction. Everyone was complaining,鈥� he says, seated in the shade of his small nursery on the highway that connects tourist destinations Canc煤n and Tulum. He gestures to a stack of the reddish building blocks 鈥� the sargassum transformed. 鈥淚 wanted to mold something good out of something everyone saw as bad.鈥�

His seaweed concoction is sturdy听

It鈥檚 hard to escape sargassum in Mexico鈥檚 Yucat谩n. In early March, beachgoers navigated thigh-high mounds of algae waiting for removal in Tulum, while travelers arriving in Canc煤n discussed excursions to cenotes, natural swimming holes, instead of the ocean. Radio programs buzzed about the record arrival of seaweed washing ashore: 鈥淒on鈥檛 forget, you can still enjoy the beach breeze, even if you can鈥檛 get in the water,鈥� one radio announcer encouraged.

The state government of Quintana Roo collected 19,000 tons of sargassum from beaches in 2020; 44,000 tons in 2021; and 54,000 tons last year. Researchers say the amount could nearly double this year, and it arrived months ahead of what is typically the start of听 sargassum 鈥渟eason鈥� in May.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a problem that won鈥檛 be resolved easily,鈥� says Edgar Gonz谩lez, a national environment, energy, and resilience officer at the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Mexico. 鈥淐limate conditions can鈥檛 be controlled in the short-term.鈥�

Mr. Vazquez mixes 40% sargassum with other organic materials, like clay, that he then puts it into a cement-block-forming machine. The blocks bake in the sun for several days before they鈥檙e ready to use. He says he used 3,000 tons of sargassum in听 2021, 2,000 tons last year. By early April 2023, he鈥檇 already used 700 tons.

The UNDP selected Mr. Vazquez鈥檚 work transforming sargassum for their Accelerator Lab, which identifies and broadcasts creative solutions to environmental and sustainability challenges globally. The idea is that some of the most timely and creative responses come from locals living the repercussions of environmental dilemmas firsthand.

鈥淣one of the multiple feasible solutions [to sargassum] depend on a single person,鈥� says Jorge Munguia, head of solution mapping at UNDP Mexico鈥檚 Acceleration Lab. But, 鈥渨e have benefited from [Omar鈥檚] imagination and his ability to approach and carry out all the work he has done.鈥�

A joint study by universities in England and Ghana found that blocks made with organic material like sargassum can last for 120 years. The ecology and environment offices of Quintana Roo concluded the blocks are safe for use in construction.听

Mr. Vazquez grew up surrounded by nature 鈥� and the hardships of poverty. It shaped him into someone who takes action, he says. He remembers singing for spare change on the street as a child, before his single mother moved the family to the U.S. as unauthorized immigrants. They picked grapes in California, and Mr. Vazquez dropped out of high school to double down on what he considers his profession: gardening.

鈥淭here鈥檚 this idea of the American dream. But, for me, personally,鈥� he says, 鈥淚 was always asking God to let me come back to Mexico.鈥�

It took almost 30 years to do so. 鈥淐oming back, it took a lot of time to adapt 鈥� the salaries are different. Sometimes people are skeptical鈥� of Mexicans returning from the U.S. he says. He worked odd jobs, like selling timeshares to tourists passing through the Canc煤n airport. Eventually he invested his savings 鈥� $55 at the time 鈥� in a nursery.

Sharing his 鈥淢exican dream鈥澨�听

As his nursery grew, he was making a name for himself creating a small but promising solution to the sargassum challenge. He gained attention through appearances on Shark Tank Mexico and a locally organized Ted Talk. Although he was living the 鈥淢exican dream,鈥� something was missing. He reflected on when he was happiest in his life and it came down to two things: Memories of spending time in his grandparent鈥檚 simple adobe-block home in Jalisco, and being with his mother, who had sacrificed so much for him before passing away in 2004.

鈥淲e never had a house of our own, we didn鈥檛 have much food or clothes. I didn鈥檛 have a father,鈥� he says. When he built what he expected to be his nursery鈥檚 new office with Sargablock, he designed it as a replica of his grandparents鈥� home and named it after his mother, Angelita.

鈥淭he first thing that came to my mind and heart was to donate houses to women like my mother, who are doing everything in their power to make it work,鈥� he says.

Enter Casas Angelitas. Using Sargablock, Mr. Vazquez has built and donated 14 homes to families in need, many single moms, but also elderly couples and parents supporting kids with disabilities.

On a recent afternoon Elizabeth Del Carmen Bonolla Lop茅z sits on the front porch of her home snuggling Chaquiste, a chihuahua named after the mosquitos found around piles of sargassum. Two years ago, during the pandemic, she was hit by a car while riding the bicycle from which she made her living, selling corn and fried pork rinds.听

A local women鈥檚 organization posted a call for help on social media, hoping听to raise enough money to pay for some of Ms. Del Carmen鈥檚 medical bills and听purchase her a new bike.听Mr. Vazquez saw the post and offered to build her a new home.听By December 2021 she鈥檇 moved out of her flimsy palm frond shelter into the two-bedroom Sargablock home.

鈥淚鈥檓 grateful. It is a blessing to know Omar,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 think for him this is听a way to fill the emptiness of growing up without a home, without a father.听He understands hardship.鈥�

She admits听feeling hesitant at first about his offer: Was it going to have a strange odor, like decomposing听sargassum on the beach? It doesn鈥檛.

鈥淣ow when I see sargassum piling up,鈥� Ms. Del Carmen says, 鈥淚 think, 鈥楾hat鈥檚听no pest. It鈥檚 my roof.鈥欌��