Eco-tourism at its Best: Santa Lucia, Ecuador

For years now I have been traveling “ecotouristically” (that should be a word if it isn't).  With increasing pressures placed on the natural environment, I look for organizations that utilize natural wonders to attract tourists, and are therefore invested in protecting them.  Whenever possible, I try to find programs that are local.  By that, I mean that the organization was founded and is run by people from that country. When an organization or program is based internationally, programs cost more and all that money is then taken out of the country.  When it is local, any money you pay for the program is given back to the community to support the economy, providing jobs, and increasing the sense of ownership over natural resources by the local people.

I have participated in at least half a dozen programs by now, so I am starting to get a pretty good sense of how it works.  That being said, I just got back from the best model of ecotourism that I have seen so far.   I wanted to share a little bit about how their model works, in the hopes that you might either: have other models that you would like to share, be inspired to visit this place yourself, or that perhaps the right person reads this and the idea could start to create similar models elsewhere.

To start with, the program I would like to applaud is called Santa Lucia, which is a land cooperative, protecting 1800 acres of cloud forest in the Ecuadorian Andes.  Although their vision and mission have changed since then, the group started back in 1976, when a new reform act made land purchase more affordable to local people.  A group of 20 families pooled their resources and purchased what is now Santa Lucia. 

 

 

Over the years a variety of business options have been tried, including banana plantations, cattle farming, and medicinal remedies, finally settling on ecotourism in the 1990s.  The reserve has built a variety of accommodations (dormitories, private rooms and cabanas), playing host to tourists, volunteers, birders, outdoor enthusiasts, and people who are generally just looking "to get away from it all." 

It is probably here that I should elaborate....  in Santa Lucia, you are literally away from it all.  The nearest town is a 30 minute drive and an hour hike away.  There is a lovely main lodge, but the only way to get to it is to climb up.  1900 meters to be exact (Americans: that means roughly 5700 feet).  In order to preserve the pristine quality of the reserve, no roads lead to the lodge, only a series of trails.  It's a hike that the locals do (taking the steeper mule trail) in about a half an hour, but most of us visitors huffed and puffed our way up between 1-2 hours. 

Sendero Principal= Main Trail
 

An average trail.  Steep climbs, and light topsoil covering slippery clay underneath (as a nice brown bruise on my right forearm will prove)

I was surprised that I managed to make it up in just over an hour, though as the air got thinner and the trails got steeper, my breaks  and my nagging suspicion that I might breathe myself into oblivion got more frequent.  About 40 minutes in I had to start rooting for myself like a high-school basketball coach.  It worked.  I made it.  And this was the view I was rewarded with.

 
 

The vision of the cooperative is: “To run a well-organized ecotourism business that creates jobs and benefits for the community and which respects that values of the members of the cooperative and the community, permitting us to conserve the forest for the future."   This comes through loud and clear.  It is a warm, welcoming and interesting place to be.

In addition to the main lodge, on the property there is also a front porch area for relaxing,

The cozy front porch.  These hammocks were a favorite by the volunteers after a long day hiking.



private cabanas,

 

Our cabana:  Cabana de la Puma

an organic garden which supplies most of the veggies and herbs used by the kitchen,

Organic garden with cabbage, carrots, radishes, broccoli raab, lemongrass, mint, lettuce, spinach, and more!



outdoor showers and composting toilets. 

The composting toilets, urinals and outdoor showers.

My favorite shower was the corner one, because you had only two walls, and the rest is clouds.

As a guest of lodge, you get the chance to be remote, ensconced in an absolutely picturesque place, surrounded by “400 species of birds; 45 species of mammals including pumas and the endangered Spectacled Bear; and thousands of tropical plants, native to the region, including an amazing variety of orchids, bromeliads, and other epiphytes.”   Local guides can take you to see the bird and plant species, walk you to the waterfalls, and explain the history of the project. 

My time at the lodge was spent volunteering on a number of conservation initiatives they have there, which I will go into in later blog posts.  When we weren't working, the days are very quiet, without electricity internet or phone to get in the way.  Time is passed studying local species guides, playing cards, laughing, using candles once the sun sets.  It was serene and refreshing.

Me and my colleagues studying birds to help with bird identifications the next day.

 

We had a big family-style dinner on the last night, which was a great send off.

 
One of my favorite parts of the Santa Lucia Lodge was getting to know the people that worked there.  The whole reserve runs with only about 10 active workers.  There is a maintenance man, a housekeeper, administration, 3 lovely young ladies in the kitchen that pump out hearty and healthy meals three times a day, and guides and naturalists to help you know what you are looking at as you go exploring.  I was impressed with their dedication to this project.  The pressures on this ecosystem continue to increase, and maintain a place a remote as this takes a lot of hard work.

Guests pitching in to help get dinner on the table.

One of our favorite dinners from our stay at the lodge: stewed chicken, green beans, marinated cooked carrots and yucca patties with an herb sauce.  Yum!



Our favorite breakfast!  So much so that we asked for it again on our last day.  The main element is the banana leaf in the middle.  Kimbolitas.  They are individual little cakes wrapped in banana leaves and steamed.   

As our send off, some of the collaborative members played some Ecuadorian music for us, filling the lodge with energy, laughter and dancing.

 

All the people in residence during my stay at the lodge.  This includes the staff, 9 volunteers, 3 workers from another reserve who came to learn about Santa Lucia's model of ecotourism, and 2 field researchers conducting PhD research on hummingbird behavior.
 
 

Given the remoteness of the lodge, most workers stay on site, and others hike up and down every day.  Not only must the workers come and go, but so must all materials.  All the materials used to build, all the wood, the doors, the cement, all had to be carried either by hand or on muleback.  Delicate things like windows and glassware, as well as the heaviest items like the generator, had to be carried by people (the generator apparently took ten men all day to carry up to the site).  This continued commitment to their vision, for me, is what makes the difference at Santa Lucia.   Though there are lots of things they could do to make life easier or to make their lodge have more mass-market appeal, but no option is considered without weighing the costs.  Having a road to the top would be much easier, and would make bringing goods a simpler and faster task.  But at the cost of air quality, noise pollution and further forestation.  Not to mention the general sense of escape that would be lost if one can just come and go so easily. 

 

On our first night, the manager greeted us by saying "Welcome to Paradise."  Now after my sweaty and breath-deprived hike, I laughed a bit at the thought... but by the next morning, as I watched that night's clouds lifts and slide away, I realized I agreed with him.  This really was an idealistic place to spend a week.

But models like this are certainly not without their problems either.  As times continue to change, the cooperative is having a harder time keeping members.  Nowadays, a rugged hike up a mountain to work is not an attractive option.  From the original 20 founding families who invested in the purchase of land, only 12 members remain to carry on the vision.  Surrounding plots of land continue to be cleared, and hunters and loggers poach into the reserve grounds as the government has yet to invest in patrolling of protected forests.  But the remaining members are going strong.  They concentrate on the  continuous stream of happy guests passing through, the increasing spread of ecotourism, albeit slowly, and gains being made daily in the gathering of vital scientific data to further conservation efforts.

I keep those last positive things in mind the strongest.  For me, the Santa Lucia Reserve was a little slice of tranquility.  I have nothing but faith in the collaborative, and in their continued commitment to protecting what is one of the most ecologically significant ecosystems in the world.  And even if you are not a total nature nut like me, you have to admit that at the very least, it is absolutely gorgeous! 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

Some of my favorite memories were of watching the changing views from our little oasis, seeing the clouds come and go, and the mist rise and fall.  I awoke to birds outside my window, and fell asleep to the sounds of crickets and frogs.  I could have happily passed two weeks at the lodge, drawing, painting, bird watching, reading, talking, laughing, and soaking it all in.  I hope you get the chance to see it for yourself!