Napo Wildlife Center

Work Areas

Main CEPA work area

Being a community that is sustained by ecotourism, great efforts have been made to lead a model of life that is in harmony with the environment. Before mentioning the main activities it is important to point out that it is a community of indigenous Kichwa culture of the Ecuadorian Amazon and every rule, sacrifice and benefit is oriented to generate impact to all its inhabitants equally.

Among the main awareness-raising activities are:

- Hunting and fishing activities have been banned throughout their territory.

- Motor boats are not used inside the Yasuní Park, which avoids polluting rivers and generating noise.

- It is forbidden to throw waste, cut plants on the tourist routes, keep wild pets and carry out any type of polluting activity that deteriorates the state of their territory.

- The community is the custodian of its entire territory and an area that represents 70% of its territory is destined for strict conservation, no activities of any kind are carried out in this area, including ecotourism.

- As an organisational strengthening measure, the consumption of alcoholic beverages is prohibited in the community.

- A minimum intensive use zone has been designated in the community in which the inhabitants can develop their farms and obtain resources.

By transmitting these activities to the whole community there is a process of total community participation in which no one is exempt from these and other rules; Añangu has learned that its strength is its people and that it is much more beneficial to conserve the environment in a way that attracts tourism and development to its population.

Top three successes

The Añangu community has made several successful ventures based on their social organisation among the main ones we mention:

1. Yasuní Kichua Ecolodge, a new lodge located in the community that has been built mainly to generate sources of employment for the women of the community who stay close to their homes and children.

2. Educational Centre ‘Vicente Mamallacta’, this project has had the support of the government entity DINSE who facilitated the construction of 9 classrooms in the community. Añangu has hired 12 professional teachers to provide a good level of education; there are 118 students, 30 come from other communities and 16 live as boarders. The community provides quality education, food and lodging to those in need free of charge.

3. Interpretation centre ‘Kurimuyo’, a Kichwa cultural interpretation centre managed mainly by the women of the community in which they can express and spread their culture to tourists and also allows them to generate income for their families.

Top three challenges

The community has recently initiated an area destined for project development, previously minor projects have been carried out successfully, the project ideas that have not materialised have been mainly due to lack of a participatory process denoting a scarce empowerment of the same. In any case, and with this background, Añangu is oriented towards a main and very ambitious challenge, which is the community reorganisation in a Village Centre, among its main challenges we can mention:

- Access to basic services for a dignified life for the whole population.

- Use of non-polluting alternative energy and use of resources that are in harmony with the environment: giving in this sense of openness to scientific research in the community.

- Integral community development with sustainable and sustainable projects with the tourist activity.