Indigenous Peoples
Supporting the Kichwa people in their own process of sustainable development.
are eager to be responsible stewards of the rainforest while improving community living conditions.
Location: Central America and the Caribbean, Ecuador | Priorities: Indigenous Peoples
The community of El Pilchi is located on the banks of the Napo River in the remote Ecuadorian East. This eco-tourism initiative – a locally-operated Volunteer Hostel, Community Garden, and Medicinal Plant Nursery – is a sustainable venture aimed at increasing economic opportunities in El Pilchi.
A locally-operated hostel in El Pilche will provide accommodation for volunteers working in the local indigenous communities on activities such as medical brigades, scientific studies, and permaculture work on the community garden or medicinal plant nursery. The local indigenous communities will benefit economically, cooperatively, and collectively.
Income generated by the initiative will stimulate the economy in this remote area, allowing pregnant women to access healthcare outside the community, enabling a paid teacher position in the school, and improving quality of life for the Kichwa people who are stewardsof the 9,200 hectares of virgin primary forest in which they live.
The objective of the community garden project is to train community members in the cultivation and harvest of organic products that they can then replicate in their own family gardens. The community as a whole benefits from the sale of organic products to the nearby hotels and eco-lodges that currently source these products from far outside this region.
Tierra Viva, Ecuador
Supporting the Kichwa people in their own process of sustainable development.
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