Lost and Found cloud forest eco lodge in Panama
How this holiday makes a difference
Environment
We did not cut any trees to develop the lodge. We rescue, rehabilitate animals and reintroduce them into the wild. We work with animal rescue centers. We have an organic veggie and herb garden, organic coffee farm, as well as an organic citrus grove. We educate our guests upon checkin about the fragile environment they are in. We compost and recycle as well. We have a reforestation project that includes a three year plan. We work with various scientists and have discovered a new species of snake as well as tarantula. The Smithsonian Tropical Research team uses our trails to study and maintain the health of the forest that surrounds the lodge and further into our network of surrounding trails. We have lots of literature at the lodge informing guests what can be seen as well as donation collection boxes for guests to contribute towards animal rescue. We are always striving to make our project more ecofriendly so that guests can enjoy their stay with us. We provide them with feedback forms upon departure so that they can add their own advice or expertise. These feedback forms are then logged into the computer in order to research the possibilities of strengthening our commitment to sustaining the environment. Our animal rescue has shown success, we only rescue and rehabilitate animals that are native to the area to ensure no new animals are part of the ecosystem that surrounds the project. Our project is small and intimate, using only 3 percent of the property. 65% of the property remains preserved Jungle. 10% more is being reforested and the last quarter is our organic work so that our guests can benefit from healthy living.
Community
We employ many people from the community. All our tours help sustain tourism within the community through profit sharing with locals. We have volunteers contribute their time towards community development. We have raised money for supplies for the local school as well as built a house for a local guide named Gabriel. One of our tours for example is to an organic coffee and wine farm. The local farmer now shares his knowledge with foreigners. On top of that, he holds classes for others in the community that want to learn the benefits and secrets of organic farming. He produces some of the best coffee to be found in Panama. We often hold English lessons at the lodge so that potential staff can be hired from the community. They also teach our clients and staff some of the folklore and help keep the heritage of the community alive. We encourage guests to visit our lodge and help us shape it in the direction of supporting the community. We encourage guests to buy locally grown tree shade coffee and organic chocolate. We also sell some of the various communities handicrafts and local clothes and artwork. We offer the community workshops in things such as massage, language assistance, farming techniques etc. So that there may be more opportunities in the near future for small businesses to help encourage more thoughtful tourism to the area that could thrive with the direction we intend to proceed.
