Tropic Ecuador, our Ecotourism Blog

Sustainability Award for Tropic! LATA 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Thu, 13 Dec 2012 18:00:00 +0000

L A T A Members’ Newsletter December 2012

LATA News Dear Members and Friends, Hopefully you have caught your breath following the WTM, a busy period for many of us. We do hope you enjoyed this year’s LATA party at St. John’s Smith Square. The feedback we have received from members and guests has been very positive, but we know we can always improve, so any feedback or ideas will be very welcome. Events like the WTM party don’t happen by chance, so on behalf of LATA and its members we would like to publicly thank the support and generosity of our sponsors the Rio Convention & Visitors Bureau, WTM Latin America and Lonely Planet, as well as the venue itself. We would also like to congratulate our award winners on the night that were honoured by the LATA membership for “Promotional Success”, Turismo Chile; for “Sustainability”, Inkaterra (with a commendation for Tropic Journeys in Nature); for “Innovation”, Mashpi (with a commendation for Crillon Tours); and for “Customer Service”, Journey Latin America. Paulo Senise of the Rio Convention & Visitors Bureau was also inducted into the LATA Hall of Fame. Its’ 5th recipient. We hope to see a good turn out of members for the Airline Forum that will be held on 12 December at Canning House. Your chance to meet the people who fly your clients to-and-from Latin America, and learn their plans for 2013. They will also be taking your questions. Drinks after will be a good way to kick off the festive season. Another important date for the diary is Wednesday, 30 January 2013, when we will be celebrating LATA 21st Anniversary at a reception on the House of Lords Terrace with the All Party Parliamentary British-Latin America Group. We urge all members to make sure their local MP knows about this event and turns up to support you. LATA Tweets & Twitter LATA is getting more and more active on Twitter in the build up to the launch of our new web site. Please follow LATA on Twitter (@latauk), and we will follow you back. You should also follow @LATA_PR, the LATA PR team, who will follow you back and can retweet your news to several hundred influential journalists and publications. LATA PR The latest LATA Press / Media Newsletter is now available to view online at: http://www.brightergroup.com/news/50/59/LATA-Lowdown-What-s-Hot-in-2013 Tropic Journeys In Nature: www.tropiceco.com Last month's Senderos Famtrip to the Huaorani Ecolodge was a tremendous success Gareth who lead the group has tons of information about our new ventures and innovation at the lodge. We are also happy to share that the Telegraph piece on the Amazon features the Huaorani Ecolodge as the highlight and a trip of a lifetime in Ecuador! http://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/activityandadventure/trip-of-a-lifetime/9648385/The-Amazon-Trip-of-a-Lifetime.html

Sustainable Tourism Development Experiences in Ecuador

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 21:01:00 +0000

Tropic General Manager sharing the company's experiences and ethos to a group of young entrepreneurs in Quito. For more information please contact us at: info@tropiceco.com or visit our website: www.tropiceco.com

The Amazon: Trip of a Lifetime

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 23:51:00 +0000

Telegraph - UK by Chris Moss Once again the Huaorani Ecolodge featured on the news: "Ecuador The headwaters of the Amazon in Ecuador are widely recognised as the site of some of the greatest biodiversity on Earth. The government is still contemplating exploiting the oil reserves in the Yasuní region but, for now at least, tourism provides a counterweight to the economic pressures. Indigenous tribes such as the Huaorani and the Shuar and the more integrated Quechua communities accommodate visitors at basic lodges along the banks of several tributaries. Lodges are often isolated and getting to one may involve a flight – while boat trips are special, a small plane offers the best vantage point for seeing the full grandeur of the canopy. Highlights include the indigenous tribes, ceibo trees, Huaorani Ecolodge and campsite, hummingbirds, blue morpho butterflies, the Yasuní Biosphere Reserve"

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Sun, 11 Nov 2012 23:46:00 +0000

Our latest presence in the news at the Sweedish press. Our GM was interviewed by TRavel Report after our participation at the Long Run Destinations Workshop with the Zeitz Foundation. "Tourism that creates sustainability" "Tourism can be a powerful tool to develop societies financially while also sustaining traditions. In Ecuador you often see conservation efforts of nature and culture, walk hand in hand with a growing tourism industry." "A concept developed in close cooperation with the with the villagers, that works as a prime example, on how tourism can be used as a tool to conserve and sustain nature and culture." Skål!!

Best for Cultural Interaction

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 16:38:00 +0000

Journey Latin America, British tour operator ranks the Huaorani Ecolodge as BEST FOR CULTURAL INTERACTION http://www.journeylatinamerica.co.uk/papagaio/Top5/jungle-lodges.aspx A stay at Huaorani Ecolodge offers a unique rainforest experience, coupled with an intimate insight into the lives and culture of the Huaorani tribal people. While the lodging is basic, the profound impact of forging a connection with the living culture of a jungle tribe is what sets it apart. Visitors will discover first-hand how people live in remote jungle communities, how they make use of the forest's resources, and the ill effects of oil exploration on them and their lands. Bring your sense of adventure: you'll arrive by light aircraft and dugout canoe, and learn how to set traps, make fire without matches, build a shelter in minutes, use a blowgun, practice the perfect swing of the machete and catch fish in jungle lagoons.

New Award for Tropic at ETC 2013 Responsible Tourism Showcase

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 14:51:00 +0000

We just got this amazing news to add the recent ones at Conde Nast Traveller and the National Geographic Traveller! Tropic's been awarded by the Educational Travel Community (ETC). the ETC's commitment to advancing responsible tourism, hosts an annual Responsible Tourism Showcase to recognize the efforts of ETC members and their partners working diligently in the field to develop and implement responsible tourism initiatives. We are proud of getting the 1st place and cogratulate the other winners and participants. Special thanks to Andrea, Pelin and the team at Holbrook for their kind nomination and support to our work in Ecuador. for more details please check: http://travelearning.com/content/index/2013_rts_honorees?subCat

Huaorani Ecolodge at the National Geographic Traveller

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Sat, 08 Sep 2012 14:40:00 +0000

Another great piece about our ecotourism programas in Ecuador. Thanks to A&K and Chris Moss for your support on this one. Ecuador: Tribal Tales Home to the Huaorani Indians, Ecuador’s Amazonian rainforest is one of the world’s most biologically rich strips of land, where travellers can learn to hunt with a blowpipe, shin up trees barefoot, summon birds and spot monkeys. Yet despite being a region of unequivocal beauty, the threat of oil drilling hangs heavily in the air. Read the article here: http://www.natgeotraveller.co.uk/where/ecuador/75331/

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 18:30:00 +0000

LIKE Ecotourism Ecuador on Facebook! www.facebook.com/tropiceco

Tropic new Office in Quito

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 20:13:00 +0000

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Huaorani Ecolodge Bird Survey 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 14:11:00 +0000

WAO! or WAORANI AMAZING - Our 2012 Life Net bird survey and banding team pulled it off. Twelve days (June11-22) of intensive fieldwork towards developing a bird list for ecotourism along the Shiripuno River at the Huaorani Ecolodge (www.huaorani.com). What did we find? We logged 220 species using birding and mist-netting - laughed daily with the Great Potoo, enjoyed views of White Hawks, and a Black Caracara family. We sunk in the mud for a glipse of a Sunbittern, slouthed for murders of Purple-throated Fruitcrows, and canoed by Spectacled Owls along the river. Thanks for all the hard work everyone.

Collared Puffbird

Guidelines for Taking Photos of Locals

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 16:30:00 +0000

Our friends at Journey Latin America jst shared this interesting and very usefull information with us. ... take a photo of that lovely smiling cholita? Is she looking at your camera lens? Should you pay for taking her picture? How much? Don’t actually want to pay? Don’t even want them looking at the camera for your picture anyway? The University of Surrey has recently done a study on the impact of tourist photography on developing destinations, using Cusco as a case study. You can read the full paper from our intranet, or if you want a quick summary of the findings, there’s a 1 page guide, which we’ve also uploaded to our website for clients to find, and will be referenced in the briefing dossier when next updated.

Check our code of conduct while visiting the Huaorani Ecolodge, more details at www.tropiceco.com

Amazon Aventures Conde Nast Traveller

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 19:09:00 +0000

We are poud to be on the news again. This month at the prestigious Conde Nast Traveller in the UK is covering our Huaorani Ecolodge Thank you Stanley for the story it was a pleasure having you here. Sarah Miller, Editor, Condé Nast Traveller says: "I love epic 'armchair' reads in equal measure, you'll also find Stanley Stewart's eloquent account of travelling in Amazonian Ecuador (page 74)"

Stanley Stuart and our GM after kayaking in the Yasuni and the Huaorani Ecolodge www.huaorani.com

Secoya Lodge

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Fri, 06 Jul 2012 18:56:00 +0000

Secoya Lodge was featured at Audley Travel summer news as a responsible alternative to visit the Amazon in Ecuador.

Huaorani Ecolodge featured on Tourism Concern News

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Fri, 11 May 2012 13:58:00 +0000

News from Tourism Concern
Huaorani Ecolodge - maintaining traditions and culture
Posted: May 2, 2012

Faced with the destruction of their surroundings and the possible disappearance of their way of life, the Huaorani chose to resist. They opted for sustainable tourism as a way to maintain their culture and improve their standard of living. Jascivan Carvalho of Tropic Journeys in Nature www.tropiceco.com explains more.

Visit the Huaorani website www.huaorani.com

The Huaorani are an age old Amazon people that traditionally lived a semi nomadic hunting and gathering life in the area's forests. Legend says that hundreds of years ago they migrated to North Western Ecuador, in the area of the world famous Yasuní National Park, recognised as one of the most bio diverse areas on the planet, in order to escape from a tribe of headhunters.

These days they lead a more settled and open existence in the humid tropical forests where the threat to their existence comes not from other Amazon peoples - although some closely related groups still shun outside influences and can be dangerous to approach - but from the pressure to integrate, as well as from the loggers and oil companies that have had negative impacts on this culturally significant people and the health and diversity of its tropical environment.

The Huaorani maintain their traditional lifestyle and at one point the future appeared bleak for this warrior people. But faced with the destruction of their surroundings and the possible disappearance of their way of life, the Huaorani chose to resist. They opted for sustainable tourism as a way to maintain their culture and improve their standard of living.

Eco tourism was in its infancy when the Huaorani began to provide visitors to their territory with unique experiences in the Amazon Rainforest. The possibility of sharing time with the Huaorani, of understanding their reality and getting to know their culture, while helping to conserve a unique environment, gave lucky visitors something few had been able to experience before. The program, named Amazon Headwaters with the Huaorani was recognised internationally by the 1997 TO DO! award by a coalition of German tourism and social organisations.

From there other plans began to take shape and after some years of planning and discussion five Huaorani communities and their partners were able to build a small lodge close to the community of Quehueri'ono, located on the upper reaches of the Shiripuno River. The final product was Huaorani Ecolodge, owned and co-managed by the communities themselves, which opened its doors in 2008. The project met with almost immediate success and was well received by travellers as well as international tourism operators and media; right from the beginning the lodge has been featured by newspapers and magazines such as The Guardian (UK), The Times (UK), The Globe and Mail (CAN), amongst others and along with Tropic Journeys in Nature its partner have won multiple awards. But the Lodge has always had a wider agenda and was designed to be more than straightforward tourism. This community based project forms an essential part of a plan to protect a globally important environment and enable a people to defend their unique forest culture.

The Lodge provides travellers with unique experiences in a comfortable intimate setting, chosen by the Huaorani themselves, together with the chance to see the rainforest through the eyes of the people who live there, and to understand what it means to have the Amazon forest as your home and to have to defend it in order to survive.

Visitors come to understand that the principle objective of the Huaorani and their Lodge is the conservation of nature and respect for tribal peoples and cultures, while providing the communities themselves with a motive for protection and a means of raising their income – in financial terms the Amazon indigenous communities are amongst the poorest in the country. To this end the Lodge directly employs local staff, who are provided with a continuous, high level of training, while all other programmes involve local guides and operators. The Lodge also uses local produce as a matter of principle and makes every effort to find local suppliers wherever possible.

The most recent element of the project is the creation of the 55,000 Ha Yame Forest Reserve, named after the recently deceased father of Moi Enomenga, one of the most respected Huaorani leaders. The project, supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and the World Conservation Society (WCS), is in the mid stages – a management plan for the area is now being designed – and is scheduled to begin operating in 2012.The Reserve will form a fundamental part of the tourism project, making the Lodge more profitable by providing visitors with added experiences of the Amazon rainforest and the satisfaction of contributing to the area's conservation, and at the same time providing the Huaorani communities, who will patrol and maintain the Reserve, with further stimulus to protect their territory from the depredations of illegal logging.

On a fundamental level the program is all about raising awareness amongst visitors about the intrinsic value of cultural or natural attractions, and the necessity to preserve and support endangered peoples and their efforts to survive and protect their environments. So given the cultural sensitivity of the communities, before any visit can take place all clients are provided with information, both written and aural on the history of the local culture as well as the plants and animals. Just by being there, visitors help community-based ecotourism maintain a way of life for the Huaorani independent of gifts and handouts from oil companies. This venture links the Huaorani to tourism as an alternative means of income in their irreversibly-changed world, enabling them to preserve their culture, heritage, and traditions and at the same time conserve the land.

Huaoroni Lodge is featured in our Ethical Travel Guide

Tourism Concern is developing a Code of Practice for tour operators working with or in areas inhabited by indigenous peoples. Look out for further information soon.

I am Yasuni campaign

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Sun, 06 May 2012 23:03:00 +0000

Yasuní National Park is home to the Waorani and some of the last indigenous tribes that still live in isolation in the Amazon, whose ancestral lands currently sit atop Ecuador’s largest undeveloped oil reserves, the Ishpingo-Tambococha-Tiputini (ITT) oil block. Yasuní National Park is also an area that contains the world’s largest biodiversity, and include species that can not be found in other parts of the world.

As the campaing mentions the Huaorani people are an important part of this amazing region. Did you know you can visit, meet and share with them at the Huaorani Ecolodge? Check more details at www.huaorani.com

Articulo Huaorani ecolodge en Iberia

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 21:33:00 +0000

Iberia features the Huaorani Ecolodge

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 20:43:00 +0000

Gracias a José Luis y Miguel, clientes que nos acompañaron al www.huaorani.com SELVA ECUATORIANA La esencia viajera que establece los criterios de ocupación de mis días vacacionales disponibles me ha orientado en esta ocasión hacia la Selva Amazónica Ecuatoriana. Junto a mi padre, iniciador y cómplice en estas lides, certificamos a lo largo de sólo cuatro jornadas, la increíble experiencia tenida en este medio natural tan espléndido y total. Un par de días en Quito nos sirven para irnos adaptando a nuestras posteriores andanzas en la selva. La intensidad va a caracterizar todos y cada uno de los tiempos tal como se irán sucediendo. El descenso de altitud desde la capital hasta la ciudad de Shell, a pie de selva, será un fascinante desfile por la avenida de los volcanes que nos permite admirar la presencia de un serial de volcanes que imponen su ley en el desdoblamiento de la cordillera andina, al tiempo que descendemos por la ruta panamericana. Se estrenan nuestras codiciosas cámaras fotográficas siempre a la búsqueda del cóndor, colibríes, halcones, ciervos, llamas, pumas o zorros de la sierra que por allí imaginamos. Una avioneta, bajo control indígena, nos introduce en el corazón de la jungla. Aterrizaje en un afeitado del bosque selvático que nos deja sin conexión ni referencia alguna con exterior. Allí quedamos a expensas de otra civilización. Tras la contención de aliento durante el vuelo recibimos y sentimos la íntima bienvenida que un grupo de huaoranis nos prodigan nada más abandonar el pájaro volador. Y desde ya nos encontramos inmersos en unos poblados que viven de manera muy intensa y real su propio idioma, sus costumbres y hasta su propia cosmovisión. Comienzan los descensos por las aguas del rio Siripuno en largas canoas dirigidas por dos indígenas y que nos aislarán todavía más en los perdidos rincones de los parajes selváticos. Tantas cuantas veces lo repetiremos, serpenteando por los meandros del caudaloso cauce, escudriñaremos con nuestros sentidos cuantos secretos imaginamos se encierran en aquellas tierras. Y en profundo y espontáneo silencio pretendemos interiorizar todos los barridos visuales que nuestra ansiosa mirada procuraba. Días de contacto y convivencia con esta tribu. Hablando con ellos y siendo testigos de su forma de vivir, de sus habilidades e incluso participando con ellos de una pequeña fiesta ritual, hemos calado en otra realidad humana que nos ha impresionado y producido el mayor de los respetos. Omene, indígena huaorani que siempre estuvo a nuestro lado, junto a José, guía naturista ecuatoriano, nos iniciaron, desde su saber y convicción, todo lo relacionado con el medio natural en contacto directo con la exuberancia vegetal y con la diversidad de la fauna circundante. Y así sucedió, por ejemplo, cuando en unas marchas, nos hicieron sus demostraciones prácticas, y por nosotros practicadas, del arte de la caza con lanza y cerbatana, según ellos lo hacen, para velar por su supervivencia. Y también cuando describen las propiedades curativas de muchas plantas así como aplicaciones diversas que ellos hacen de diversos elementos naturales. O cuando nos muestran su especial habilidad para gatear a lo más alto de los árboles En una de las expediciones nocturnas nos llegamos hasta una gran cascada cuyo emplazamiento era particularmente especial así como el significado que para ellos tiene. Igualmente hemos conocido el programa educativo resultado de la conexión de la agencia ecuatoriana Tropic Ecuador con los indígenas huaoranis, planteamiento que nos pareció muy acertado según concluímos del contacto que tuvimos con Moi Emonenga, líder huaorani empeñado en preservar la identidad de estos indígenas con fidelidad al legado heredado de sus ancestros en consonancia con los tiempos modernos. Y tampoco faltaron las anécdotas para el recuerdo como lo fueran la considerable tormenta en una de las noches que hiciera elevar significativamente el nivel del río, o el naufragio de nuestra canoa, felizmente resuelto, o el lanzamiento al río, y baño subsiguiente, desde lo alto de una gran liana que se balanceaba desde la orilla por encima del cauce. Y, por decir, nuestra aportación culinaria en la cena de la última noche a base de una hermosa tortilla española que confeccionamos bajo la atenta mirada de nuestros amigos indígenas y que luego todos compartimos. Gesto intercultural. Estas gentes indígenas, milenarios pobladores de estas tierras, se encuentran en la actualidad asediados por las compañías buscadoras de petróleo. Nuestros anfitriones no hacen el juego a estos intereses que en aras del dorado líquido se están cargando el riquísimo medio natural de la selva. Así lo hemos podido constatar, si bien, en la región de la ciudad de Coca la realidad es bien distinta. El viaje tuvo su complemento necesario en la perfecta conexión con los otros tres miembros del grupo: Patrick y Diana, de Canterbury, y Kevin, de Alaska. Y, desde luego, la actitud sencilla y dedicada del equipo de huaoranis que velaron por nuestra seguridad y supervivencia: Chino, Beatriz, Verónica, Eloy y Boya Ha sido un viaje de los que permanecen en el recuerdo y que te permiten mirar atrás, en el tiempo y en la distancia, con mucho agrado.-

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 20:19:00 +0000

Tropic gave away a few book samples about The Huaorani People and the Yasuni National Park to Mani Restaurant in Sao Paulo. Good to see it on the main entrance! Thanks a lot to Helena and Daniel.

Save the Yasuni! Visit the Yasuni!

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 17:23:00 +0000

you can also support conservation by visiting the Amazon Rainforest!

Yasuni Program and the Huaorani territory

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 19:02:00 +0000

We were glad to support Conservation in Action Foundation's work with the Huaorani people and the Yasuni Program. A short presentation at their channel. for more details check our site: www.tropiceco

2012 Huaorani Jungle Challenge is ON!!

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:53:00 +0000

CHARITABLE TRUST We are really proud to partner and sponsor the first-ever MULTI-DAY GVI Amazon Charitable Trust activity at the Huaorani Ecolodge for more details and support: http://gviamazon.blogspot.com/2012/02/charitable-trust-2012-huaorani-jungle.html

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:45:00 +0000

Visit the Amwae initiative in any of our departures to teh Huaorani Ecolodge. Visit our new site at: http://www.tropiceco.com/waponi_minisite/huaorani_ecolodge.html Congratulations for another sucessful project to the Huaorani Women Association!

Tropic is one of the Top 5 Green Operators for Active Breaks

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:54:00 +0000

Tropic's work is featured at National Grographic Traveller this month. Thanks a lot Richard for thinking of us.

An analysis of the conditions for success of community based tourism enterprises

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 17:01:00 +0000

We are pleased to see Rebecca Armstrong's Paper about Community tourism http://www.artyforum.info/RTD/OP21RebeccaArmstrong.pdf part of the series of ICRT Occasional Papers available here - http://icrtcic.wordpress.com/resources/ ) Here is what she said about our work: Huaorani Ecolodge, Ecuador [www.huaorani.com] is owned by the local community and managed in partnership with a private operator, Tropic Journeys in Nature. One of its key objectives has been to provide incentives for conservation through tourism. Community participation has been high and pride in its local culture and ability to operate a tourism business has been boosted. The project reports a significant impact on the local economy, having created 32 part time jobs, involving 25 out of 37 families. Funding has been provided by its private sector partner and after 4 years of operation the lodge is now breaking even without any requirement for grants or subsidies. We find really interesting the Broker concept broight by her on the document and I am sure she and the world will be pleased to know about our new Waponi venture, starting operations this year. http://www.thelongrun.com/members/view/supporter/waponi

Huaorani ecolodge at the Evening Standard London

noreply@blogger.com (Ecotourism Experiences) — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 16:29:00 +0000

Sarah Marshall talks about the Huaorani ecolodge on the top five travel experiences "These days, it’s about what you’ve done not where you’ve been. Here are some unusual activities to try"