A Green Economy Committee Feature 

Eco Green Guyana is managed by Mario Amres, a member of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI).

Mario indicated that after working with his family businesses over the years, late last year (2019), he decided to start his own business to exemplify his personal passion for the environment, one that he hopes will have a lasting effect on his home country, Guyana. Hence, the birth of Eco Green Guyana.

Mario’s beginnings go back to when he was the Marketing Director of G.E.B Security Services Inc. Back then he advised, “I handled our marketing, PR campaigns, clients relations, and new client contracts, as the first private security company here established in 1967.” Mario is very proud of his father who is considered the pioneer of private security services in Guyana. For him, it was always important to maintain very high standards in the industry and also be innovative, by introducing such technology to the industry as CCTV cameras, wireless alarms, GPS, and remote monitoring.

In a very reflective mode, Mario noted that what he is most proud of with G. E. B Security Services Inc is that in 2010, following an analysis they had done, it was found that over 10,000 Guyanese had been employed over the years. For him, providing an honest pay for that amount of Guyanese meant far more than the technical aspect. He reminisced that G.E.B. in those days, was the acronym for Guyana Employment Bureau. Mario said, “we first started as an employment agency, however, due to the overwhelming response for watchmen, as they were called at the time, my father decided to fill the need, so he went to London for training and the rest is history.”

As it relates to eco-tourism, Mario is proud to relay that in the 1980’s his father, Maurice Amres, introduced the Timberhead Resort. This resort was marketed as Guyana’s first nature resort. Over the years notable visits were made by the Royal family including Queen Elizabeth, Prince Phillip, and Princess Margaret, and several celebrities such as Mick Jagger and Eddy Grant, amongst others.

In 1996, his brother, the late Anthony Amres, started the first mobile concrete business in Guyana (Readymix Concrete). This was after his brother witnessed seeing the bucket brigades of concrete being pulled up in multi-storied structures. Mario noted it was not all smooth sailing and acceptance of the product took time. He conveyed that it took two years before they got their first order because clients were not accustomed to flowing concrete that contained concrete chemicals.

Fast forward and Mario advised that over the last 10 years, he has represented Tencate Geosynthetics and introduced Geosynthetics which includes Geotextiles, Geocomposites, Geotubes,Geogrids. These materials, he related, are now being embraced in Guyana. Mario explained that due to the family’s existing Readymix business, he introduced concrete chemicals for the engineering of concrete finishes especially for industrial and commercial use as a value added step which allows more longevity.

With Eco Green Guyana, in his words, “I have added new leading global brands that will help us to deliver new Green Solutions that are proven. Our Tencate Geotubes is not only for coastal and inland erosion control, but also for industrial waste management, flood management, and land and water reclamation and remediation. We not only sell materials but Tencate with over 100 engineers at their global offices, lend a high level of technical assistance to projects using our materials. We can go to both local and remote communities and show them new techniques, for building roads, flood and erosion control, rainwater harvesting, stormwater management, aquafarming, building better drainage structures.”

When questioned what is green about his business and how does it reduce carbon emission, his reply was, “We offer a Dewatering System using Tencate GeoTubes. This means mining companies, farms, municipal plants and any industry producing industrial waste can now separate this sludge and return clean water to the environment (creeks, rivers, streams).This service alone can help companies with reducing their carbon foot print and built their repute for being green conscious.”

He added that Tencate materials are also designed to be environmentally friendly and do not affect marine life as per the pictures below of submerger Geotubes which shows marine life that has taken over.

The Chamber queried with Mario that given the huge waves we get hit with, sometimes 6 feet and over, what size in diameter of tube would our coast need? He advised that Tencate Geotubes are used around the globe in massive projects. Pictured below are Geotubes used in creating a new island in Bahrain. Mario noted that waves in Guyana are no problem, once we have data designed for specific application each time.

Mario said, “years ago we had a lot of jetties along the coast, about every 500 metres. They broke the waves and aided accumulation of mud, which in itself reduced the impact of coastal erosion.” We asked, “do you think that is still a viable measure?” He replied, “jetties are still useful being attached to the coastline. It interrupts the natural sediment flow that is needed along the coast and accumulation of mud will happen. However, this will have an adverse effect downstream on other areas with no accumulation. When building jetties today, we have to look at the effects downstream and build accordingly.”

On the question of successes and challenges, he indicated that, “We’re a new company dealing with the present situation, but we intend to use this opportunity to get our message to a wider cross section of the public.”

When asked if local clients are supportive, Mario advised that clients would be more supportive with the EPA strengthening its resources to enforce the environmental laws on a more consistent basis. He added that we also need more stringent penalties for defaulters. This would greatly help in getting people to treat the environment with more respect and not just as a commodity to exploit.

We asked Mario about his future plans, and his response was, “We would like to build energy efficient Green homes of all sizes and use materials that are strictly environmentally friendly.” He passionately goes on to say that, “Guyana needs a sub-development that is eco-friendly with residents that are eco-friendly. With the present global crisis, many Guyanese are looking to return home. Only prefabricated homes will even have a chance to fulfil this present and future demand. At Eco Green Guyana we are looking at ways to bridge this gap.”

In his closing remarks, Mario reflected that Guyana is one of the few countries in the world that can be fully sustainable and advised that we use this opportunity very wisely. For him, a sustainable Guyana means that we will be able to maintain a good standard of living, should we have to deal with any global financial collapse or pandemic. According to him, with the times we’re presently facing, we must be able to prepare for just about anything.

Mario and his family has had a tradition of being pioneers in a number of business initiatives that have all turned out to be successful and created much needed employment opportunities. With Eco Green Guyana, and the perseverance his family is noted for, we have no doubt another success story will unfold. Good luck Mario!

Eco Green Guyana (Helping to Build Sustainable Communities across Guyana)
Tel No. (592)-647-4997
Email: [email protected]
Website: currently being developed

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