Yesterday a wonderful person and great friend of SALEM passed away unexpectedly.
The SALEM community expresses its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Pasky Pascual (Paco).

With great sadness we say goodbye to a person who’s impact in Mindo has been tremendous. Paco taught data analysis and programming to students throughout Mindo with great passion, and he even had a plan to build a data science school. With this knowledge, the young people would be able to build a professional foothold in the field and exchange ideas internationally, while also protecting the incredible diversity of the cloud forest surrounding them by using information from big data. With all of his ideas, sustainability and the good of the community were always at the forefront of his mind.

Paco dreamed. He dreamed of a world that no longer cut down the cloud forest, of a world where Latin Americans could get good jobs because they could work anywhere via Internet, of a world where people lived sustainably. And he has never dreamed only for himself. He designed an entire blockchain just to collect data in a meaningful way, so that everyone in the world could save their forests from being cut down and quickly identify the problem areas. His regular data science classes helped talented young people invest in their future and the future of Mindo. Paco never dreamed only for himself. He dreamed for all of us.

We will greatly miss his knowledge and everlasting commitment to Mindo, and will do our best to carry on his inspiring energy and legacy. Rest in peace, Paco.