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Contact:
Douglas McMeekin
General Manager
Funedesin/Turisyachana
Solano e12-61 y av. Oriental
Quito, Ecuador
Tel: +593/2-252-3777
Fax: +593/2-222-0362
douglas@funedesin.org
www.yachana.com
Certified by:
SmartVoyager, Ecuador
Type of accommodation:
Bed & breakfast, lodge, inn
Features:
Hot water
Internet connection
Laundry facilities
Private bathroom
Restaurant
Number of rooms: There are 18 rooms and one dormitory for volunteers and students.
Year founded: 1995
Number of employees: 50
Percent of employees who are local residents: 80 %
Type of destination:
Forest/rainforest
Indigenous community
River, lake, wetland
Able to accommodate:
Families
Seniors
Singles
Singles with children
Volunteers (to work in your establishment)
Description of the area:
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 1000 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.
The lodge is not suitable for people in wheelchairs because of the need to hike and the presence of stairs.
Available activities:
Bird watching
Eco / nature / wildlife
Educational, research, volunteering
Tours
Visits to conservation projects
Walking / hiking
How to get there:
Yachana Lodge can be reached from Coca year-round in 2.5 hours by riverboat.
Making a difference:
Ecotourism is of vital importance for the people and the conservation of the Amazon forest. To pursue this objective we use an innovative development model based on an organization (non-profit) as well as a business structure. The Fundación para la Educación y Desarrollo Integrado (FUNEDESIN) is a non-profit foundation that has created two socially-conscious enterprises, Yachana Lodge and Yachana Gourmet, to fund its fight against poverty and disease. The income from both businesses supports FUNEDESIN's projects for sustainable development and rainforest conservation, guaranteeing their long-term sustainability.
Yachana's strengths lie in its ability to motivate the local community (Mondaña) through employment and training in hotel and restaurant administration, and for giving guided tours. They in turn give us the opportunity to learn about their culture; they are our main allies. We work jointly with the communities of Ecuador's Amazon region to improve education, develop medical assistance based in the community, establish sustainable agricultural practices, provide ecological economic alternatives, and conserve the rainforest.
Efforts are underway to obtain sustaianbility certification from Smart Voyager.
General rates:
$$ ($26-$50) Volunteers
$$$$ ($50-$150) Students/Special groups
Additional information:
Web page of the Fundación para la Educación y Desarrollo Integrado (FUNEDESIN) with detailed information about the different social and conservation programs and the natural resource management the foundation carries out.
Date this information was provided: September, 2007.
