Henua Manuela Ugarte Hucke

Henua Ugarte Hucke has been an Easter Island Foundation scholarship recipient in 2021 and 2023, and the Sandra Broadrick-Allen Memorial Award in 2022.

In the second semester of 2023 I began work on my final thesis, not only in theory, but also in practice. I am focusing on the recovery of strawberry guava waste from Rapa Nui, in order to find new options and sustainable applications for the island and in the hope that this can also be applied to different fruits and vegetables. Using the knowledge gained from my research, I intend to introduce innovative methods to convert guava residues into valuable resources, such as organic fertilizers or bioenergy. This will address environmental concerns, but also will create economic opportunities for the Rapa Nui community. The Easter Island Foundation scholarships have been a fundamental support for my personal and professional development. In the future, I would like to continue with postgraduate studies in order to acquire as much knowledge as possible that would be applicable to Rapa Nui. My goal is to open an agricultural research centre on Rapa Nui in the future, where we can carry out research that will allow us to study our land and its richness, in order to achieve food independence and sustainability one day.