Location: Ecuador
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Situated on the banks of the Shiripuno River in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon, Huaorani Ecolodge sits in one of the most bio-diverse areas in the world which forms part of the planet’s largest remaining tropical forest. The Lodge exposes visitors to an astounding range of plants and animals and provides the unique opportunity to interact with the ancient Huaorani tribe – a people who made contact with the outside world just 55 years ago.
Huaorani Ecolodge, which opened its doors in January 2008, is situated in the community lands of the Quehueri'ono, on the banks of the Shiripuno River in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon Territory and Yasuni Biosphere Reserve. It has been specially designed to provide an intimate, harmonious and environmentally sustainable experience. Visitors to the lodge are provided with the most indescribable and memorable experience of being immersed into an ancient Amazonian culture, that of the Huaorani people.
The Lodge quenches the thirst of any bird lover with many of the 610 bird species found in the Yasuni National Park seen in the forests that surround the Lodge. Nestled in this bustling Amazonian surrounding the Lodge provides a cosy, nature-filled get-away. It houses a maximum of ten people in five comfortable, traditionally built, palm thatched cabins. Whether you choose to take a tour with a deeply knowledgeable Huaorani guide or sit in the hammock house along the banks of the Shiripuno River, Huaorani Ecolodge provides the perfect blend of activity and relaxation.
Each aspect of Huaorani Ecolodge bears testament to its commitment to environmental sustainability. The lodge was designed to ensure minimum impact of its surroundings. Its beautiful cabins were built with locally available materials and cleverly weaved into their Amazonian surroundings with the least amount of space possible used. It operates entirely on solar energy and has pioneered the use of solar fridges in Ecuador securing its status as a one-of-a kind sustainable tourism business in the area. It recycles most of its waste on-site and avoids, wherever possible, the use of fuel for areas such as transportation. Whatever cannot be recycled on site is transports to the nearest town – Coca.
The Yame Reserve is not just any old forest. Its closeness to Ecuador’s Yasuní National Park means that it will in many ways extend the Park’s boundaries. The Reserve (incidentally named after the father of Moi Enomenga, the project’s pioneer) is patrolled and protected by the communities themselves, thus ensuring that the area will not suffer from illegal logging or invasion by colonos. The link between the Reserve and the Lodge is fundamental as the tourism project provides community members with a solid reason to preserving the forest, as well as a way to improve their standard of living.
Numbering approximately 2,400 individuals, many Huaorani maintain a largely traditional lifestyle living directly in and from the rainforest. They have long inhabited the headwaters of the Amazon, living as nomadic hunters and gatherers with little contact with the outside world up until the end of the 1950s, and at least one clan continues to shun all contact with the outside world.
The aim of Huaorani Ecolodge is to share Huaorani culture. The cabins are made in the same style as Huaorani traditional houses. Guided tours at the lodge are given by members of the community who impart traditional knowledge and beliefs to guests. The Lodge also sells handicrafts produced by the community and all the transportation within the area is done Huao style through dugout canoes. In addition to this, the Lodge actively participates in community assemblies where proposals with regards to its operations are discussed with the community.
Huaorani Ecolodge was founded on the dream of saving a remote land and helping protect the amazing culture of the Huaorani people. That dream is slowly but surely being realised through this sustainable tourism business. The profits earned from business are ploughed back into the initiatives the Lodge spearheads in the other 3Cs. Huaorani Ecolodge is also working to build the entrepreneurial skills of the Huaorani people through continuous training and alternative business developments around the tourism operation.
