YACHANA LODGE IS THE BEST TRUE ECOTOURISM PROJECT
I HAVE FOUND IN 17 YEARS OF TRAVEL IN ECUADOR.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED AND CONGRATULATIONS."
-- Rob Rachowiecki, Author of Lonely Planet travel guide, Ecuador
At the
YACHANA FOUNDATION (formerly known as FUNEDESIN, the Foundation for Integrated Education and Development), we are dedicated to finding sustainable solutions in the struggle between the ideals of rain forest preservation and the realities of life in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
We work with local communities to develop community-based medical care and ecotourism programs, establish sustainable agricultural practices, improve education, provide environmentally sustainable economic alternatives, and conserve the rain forest.
Yachana Foundation employs an innovative development model based on a non-profit/for-profit organizational structure. The non-profit Foundation has created two for-profit companies,
Yachana Lodge and
Yachana Gourmet , to finance its fight against poverty and disease and the destruction of Ecuador's imperiled rain forest.
One hundred percent of the profits from both companies support Yachana Foundation's rain forest conservation, poverty reduction, healthcare, and community development projects, guaranteeing their long-term financial sustainability.
For more information on how you can help, please
click here .
RAINFOREST PROTECTION CAMPAIGN
Since 1994, Yachana Foundation has purchased and protected over 3,600 acres of primary and secondary rainforest. In January 2002, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Environment declared all of Yachana Foundation's rain forest a Protected Forest. Generous donations by organizations, such as Rainforest Concern , and hundreds of individuals have allowed us to purchase and protect 3,600 acres of rainforest.
Learn more, contact
[email protected] .
NEW! YACHANA HIGH SCHOOL BRINGS MEANINGFUL EDUCATION TO AMAZON YOUTH
In the Amazon region of Ecuador, poverty, environmental degradation, and the poor quality of public education are all inextricably linked. Meaningful education is the key to reversing generations of poverty, raising environmental awareness and ensuring the sustainable use of the region's natural resources.
Thanks to Yachana Foundation's volunteer and donation program, the Yachana Technical High School opened in 2005. The program is designed to provide Amazonian youth with access to education that is relevant to their lives and focuses on three primary learning areas: rainforest conservation, sustainable agriculture, and eco-tourism.
Click here to learn more.
MONDANA HEALTH CLINIC
The Mondana Health Clinic provides excellent, low-cost medical and dental care to over 10,000 Quichua indigenous and colonists living in the Upper Napo River region of the Ecuadorian Amazon. To effectively provide healthcare to communities spread across a wide geographic area marked by difficult terrain, the Clinic has developed an extensive community-based healthcare network comprised of community health promoters (CHPs), a two-way radio system, and fully equipped medical outposts.
Learn more, contact
[email protected] .
YACHANA LODGE
Yachana is a Quichua word which means a place of learning, an important part of
Yachana Foundations philosophy. Yachana Lodge lives up to its name; it truly is a window into the world of the rainforest and its inhabitants. The author of the Lonely Planet Travel Guide to Ecuador distinguishes Yachana Lodge as "the best true example of eco-tourism I've found in 17 years of travel in Ecuador."
Learn more, contact
[email protected] .
MICRO ENTERPRISE - YACHANA GOURMET
Yachana Foundation believes the future of the rainforest is inextricably linked to the wellbeing of its inhabitants. The Foundation and its socially progressive, green companies are simultaneously alleviating poverty and protecting the rainforest by providing employment, teaching sustainable agriculture, and creating markets for local products.
Yachana Gourmet is an ecologically conscious, socially progressive company designed to purchase agricultural commodities grown in the rain forest, add value to these products in the jungle, and open international markets. Yachana Gourmet produces a unique chocolate product, known as Yachana Jungle Chocolate, for export to the world.
Learn more, contact
[email protected] .
