Long term conservation by assisting indigenous communities
Rainforest Review Summer 2000

For the past six years Rainforest Concern has known and admired the work of FUNEDESIN (The Foundation for Integrated Education and Development) and its founded Douglas McMeekin. As a result, in June 1999 we decided to officially support the organization by providing $15,000 to start a protection programme for the Gran Sumaco National Park and to purchase land close to their community project at Yachana. We have recently provided a further $16,000 for additional land purchase and we are also pleased to report that Quest overseas will be extending its operation this year by sending teams of student volunteers to Yachana.

FUNEDESIN provides a window into the life of the people and wildlife of the Amazon Region but, more importantly, its long term goal is to expand its role as a leader in sustainable community development, rainforest conservation and ecotourism in Ecuador 's Amazon Region.

Located on the banks of the Rio Napo, Ecuador's principal river and tributary of the mighty Amazon, much of the forest is of secondary growth and has been colonised for many years. Nevertheless the primary forest is just a few kilometers inland from the river.

The projects FUNEDESIN are undertaking are not only about pure wildlife conservation but also about finding ways in which people and wildlife can live side by side. If you read on you will begin to find out why it is working.

FUNEDESIN only implements projects carefully considered for their environmental impact and long-term sustainability. For example, the foundation's Yachana Lodge uses solar-generated electrical power and gravity-fed spring water. It also composts and recycles its refuse, uses a septic system for solid waste disposal and uses natural insect controls, such as bats and frogs. The foundation has created micro habitats for native species, such as ponds for frogs and flowering plants for hummingbirds. Yachana employs permaculture techniques to provide a mostly organic and vegetarian menu for its guests which are restricted in number.

The foundation uses its lodge facilities to provide conservation and ecotourism education programmes to indigenous communities. In Sucumbios Province , it has provided extensive conservation training and project support for eight indigenous communities, including the Quichua and the Cofan, located along a new 37 kilometre road which has been built to a petroleum well location. On the border of Sucumbios and Napo Provinces , FUNEDESIN is providing conservation training and educational programmes for park guards to work in Grand Sumaco National Park . As local people hold all of the key positions at Yachana Lodge, staff members are able to relate in ways that are clearly understood by their counterparts.

For the last five years, in Napo Province , the foundation has provided periodic education in conservation and sustainable development to the leaders of over twenty-six communities located along the Upper Napo River .

The foundation uses a dual approach to address local environmental issues: promoting environmentally sustainable agricultural production and purchasing land with primary forest for conservation. The foundation discourages cattle ranching and promotes organic and sustainable agriculture including cultivation of coffee, cacao and tropical fruits.

Yachana Lodge is staffed almost exclusively with local indigenous Quichuas, Shuars or colonists, with key positions filled by people from the area. The Lodge provides income for families and individuals who demonstrate traditional healing practices, fishing techniques, agricultural methods and traditional artisanry.

In the region around the Lodge, FUNEDESIN has also helped to organise the local communities in building a health clinic, using volunteer labour and materials from twenty-six communities. The clinic now serves over 8,000 people and is staffed with two full-time doctors, a dentist, a nurse, a laboratory technician, an indigenous pharmacist and administrator, and an indigenous auxiliary nurse. With funding from CARE regular canoe transportation is available to and from the clinic. The foundation is training fifty two community health promoters to implement a child welfare programme for the villages neighboring Yachana. Also adjacent to the Lodge, the foundation had established a food processing centre that provides a market for local agricultural produce, which is sold at the Lodge and at locations in Quito . In the near future, it is hoped FUNEDESIN will begin exporting these products.

Part of FUNEDESIN's wider initiative is to train local people in sustainable management of their resources, proper sanitation practices and health and family planning.

The experience at Yachana Lodge is unique in Ecuador , and perhaps unique in the world. In the Quichua language, "yachana" means a place for learning. FUNEDESIN's Yachana Lodge lives up to its name, as a place where people can learn about the fragility of the rainforest eco-system, the culture of the people who live there and the challenges of improving their lives in an environmentally sustainable manner.