Ecuador rainforest ecolodge
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
We are using a 100% hydroelectric power source all year round for our electricity needs. This region of Ecuador relies only on that source. All rooms are equipped with a general switch that only works when the key is in it. When clients leave the room, they cannot leave anything connected or any light on.
All lights are set on a dimmer, and all garden appliances use low energy bulbs.
All the needs of the Lodge for water (from washing to showers and all) are covered by the rainwater we collect from the roofs. Fortunately, the Amazon region is always a very good provider regarding rain, and it is enough for our needs. Then the “dirty” water is going through biological tanks with bacteria to clean the water before it goes through physical filters and then plants filters.
The swimming pool is also working with rainwater (the whole volume is changed every month in average with the falling rain) and is treated with ozone generators. We use biodegradable laundry products (all water also comes from the rain, and is therefore limited to our tanks capacity). Each room has a note for clients regarding sheets and towels saying that unless they request it, they will be washed only every 2 days.
The amazon region doesn’t allow to grow many things apart from what already grows naturally (yucca, bananas, …) and the use of pesticides is out of question, but also useless here. We use the compost as fertilizer.
The Lodge is set on a 64 Hectares land covered with primary and secondary rainforest. The part we chose to build on was an old gold mine (roughly 2 hectares) which had destroyed the environment in the past. We carefully brought back this piece of land to life and protected the rest from outside influence. After a year, birds and various animals were back. We also went through a selection process to help the forest by removing opportunist trees and help the strong and healthy species to grow and colonize the forest. Every organic wastes from the kitchens and garden are composted for future use as fertilizer.
We try to avoid plastics as much as we can : amenities are either offered in ceramics made by the local community or in “Peltre” which is a type of craft made with recycled aluminum. We shop to the local market as much as we can and always avoid plastic bags, using reusable ones. We use only the returnable glass bottles beverages.
For all the rest, the plastics are brought to a private recycling company in town, and so far we have been stock piling glass, waiting for the same company to start recycling glass as well in the next few months. Most of our work is done via internet, our placed is fairly secluded and this is the most convenient way to work.
Community
As a personal policy, we hire only people from local Kichwa communities in our staff. Also, we support various local actions either privately (helping to maintain the water supply system of a nearby community) or through the activities we promote. Everyone goes through a formation to train them for their future work.
We buy most products (vegetables and fruits) from local and indigenous market. Ans also often use local veggies and fruits in the cooking. We use local companies and communities for the organization of our activities such as Jungle tours and community visits, and we help through a promotion of cultural features of local ethnic groups. Every organic wastes from the kitchens and garden are composted for future use as fertilizer.
All builders came from local indigenous communities. Electricians and more specialized technicians come from the small local town Tena. All the wood we used to build the Lodge came from a selection process and not from a large company. This ensured that only the trees that were needed for the construction were used and never others had to be destroyed to give way to heavy machineries. In addition, we have been replanting various species of trees on the gold mine zone to cover the debilitated land.
The use of thatched roof being the worst solution for a Hotel (because of the impossibility to make daily fires in building clients, it require the use of environmentally harmful chemicals usually mixed with diesel) we opted for recycled asphalt tiles. Once again, only people from local communities helped building.
Finally, the size of the Lodge is thought to be ecofriendly. With only 5 bungalows we wanted to limit the impact on the local environment and limit the quantities of waste generated.
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