Yachana Lodge

Overview

Description

Yachana Lodge is a window to the reality of life and culture in Ecuador's Amazon region on the Napo River. The lodge is on more than 1,000 acres of land in the small community of Mondaña, located on the banks of the Napo River between Puerto Misahuallí and El Coca.

Yachana Lodge is dedicated to the preservation of environment and culture and offers comfortable lodging while serving as an incentive to raise awareness about the importance of real ecotourism/geoturism.

The lodge is not suitable for people in wheelchairs because of the need to hike and the presence of stairs.

Rooms

18 rooms and one dormitory for volunteers and students.

Making a Difference

Number of employees: 50

Percentage of local employees: 80%

Ecotourism is a vital activity for the people of the Amazon region and for the conservation of the rainforest. To ensure the sustainability of ecotourism, an innovative model was developed that employs both non-profit and for-profit organizational structures.

The Yachana Foundation founded two socially responsible companies, Yachana Lodge and Yachana Technology, to finance its work to alleviate poverty and disease. Income from these two companies fund the Foundation's sustainable development and rainforest conservation projects guarantees their long-term sustainability. One of the most important projects is the Yachana Technical College, which offers practical education to about 100 students in five provinces in the Amazon. The study areas include ecotourism, sustainable agriculture, small business administration, and conservation.

Yachana's work is based on a partnership with the local Mondaña community in which the residents are offered jobs and training in hotel and restaurant administration, and guiding, and the community shares knowledge about its culture. Yachana also works with communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon to improve education, develop better medical attention, establish sustainable agricultural practices, and provide ecological alternatives that will conserve the rainforest.

In 2007, Yachana Lodge received Smart Voyager sustainable tourism certification.

Rates

$26 – $50

From $26 to $50 for volunteers; from $65 to $150 for students/special groups.

Getting There

Nearest international airport: Quito (UIO)

Nearest local/national airport: Coca (OCC)

Distance, by land, to the nearest airport: 37 miles.

Yachana Lodge can be reached from Coca year-round by riverboat (2.5 hour trip).

Additional Information

Additional Web sites

• www.funedesin.org (available in English). The Yachana Foundaion Web site has detailed information about the different social and conservation programs and the natural resource management the Foundation carries out.

Date This Information Was Provided

April 2009.

Photo courtesy of Yachana Lodge, Ecuador, for SustainableTrip.org.

• Yachana Presentation
• Empowerment for Advancement, Yachana Foundation