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Kapawi Ecolodge & Reserve

Called "Ecuador's closest approach to the perfect ecolodge" it has been prized by British Airways with the Tourism for Tomorrow award in 1998, Ecotourism Excellence Award by Conservation International 2000, Ecotourism Award, Skal International 2002.

Initiated in 1993 in partnership with the FINAE, by providing a monthly means of economic support and jobs to the Achuar superior to the relatively limited lifestyle in an area of 5.000 square kilometers with a population of 4,500 people in 56 communities. Kapawi started their operation in 1996.

Kapawi is located in the heart of the Amazon Basin, located at 250 km south east of Quito, within the boundaries of Ecuador, a small very diverse and safe country in northwest South America. The territory where Kapawi is located belongs to the Achuar Organization.

This indigenous group wanted to work together with a private enterprise in order to create a series of programs focused on the sustainable development of environmentally friendly and economic alternatives for the Achuar communities. CANODROS S. A., the tour operator, with a vast experience in the Galapagos Islands is the partner of the Achuar people in this enterprise.

In the year 2011 (at the end of a fifteen-year period), the Achuar will run the entire operation by their own. Also, a monthly rent paid by Canodros to FINAE for the use of their land will total over $600,000 and a ten-dollar fee charged to every visitor will add an estimated additional $150,000.

Kapawi was built by the Achuar people using traditional techniques, combined with low-impact technologies (solar energy, biodegradable soaps, four-stroke outboard motors).

Isolation from the rest of the world doesn't mean a lack of comfort, you will be accommodated in one of 20 double or triple rooms, each with its private bathroom, sun-heated showers, and electricity provided by a hybrid system photovoltaic and diesel generator.

From your room on a private balcony you will be able to relax and observe the daily visitors: ducks, hummingbirds, egrets, parrots, or you can listen to the music of the myriad of frogs at night.

Enjoy dining in a relaxed setting of our dinning room and serviced by our renowned culinary staff who prepares a daily fare of Ecuadorian and classic light cuisine, as well as special dietary requests, all combined with traditional products of the area.

In the main lounge you will find a library for your convenience where paperbacks, magazines and books are available. A small boutique stocks essential items, as well as handicrafts and souvenirs.

As part of a small group (no larger that ten, leaded by a naturalist and an Achuar guide), you can fully customize your itineraries. These activities range from short hikes on well-defined trails and visits to the Achuar communities, and leisurely canoe and kayak rides to more strenuous and demanding hikes that may take a day or even overnight camping after trekking through poorly defined trails or flooded areas.

Hiking
Easy, moderate or difficult, a long the tropical rain forest visiting Achuar Communities.

Bird watching
In our bird list we have recorded until September 2004, 559 bird species around the area.

Kayaking & canoe trips
This activity can be done a long short rivers as the Capahuari or some lagoons near the lodge. The canoe trips can be taken a long rivers as the Pastaza.

Camping
This activity depends on the guest’s decision. Part of our staff takes the food to the camping area; we will try to give our guests the same services as they were staying at the lodge.

Achuar Community visits
This is one of our best activities offered in Kapawi, it is because of the significant cultural contribution to the Achuar people. We give our guests a briefing about the Achuar Culture, their ethics codes and some suggestions about how to behave during this activity. It also includes overnight in the communities where you can share with the locals some of they daily rituals

Caiman watching
This activity is done during the nights because these reptiles are nocturnal animals.

Night Hikes
A very nice activity because it offers the opportunity to see a different perspective of the Rain Forest.

Start gazing
If the weather conditions allowed we have a spotting scope to watch for starts, while locals explain their legends and visions related to the sky. Remember we are very close to the Equator so there is several months in the year when you can spot the big dipper and the southern cross at the same time.

Lectures
Our naturalist and the local guides are well versed in several topics related to the Amazon basin, you will get a very interesting approach of how both worlds see the forest from a scientific and western point of viewed as well as the Achuar .

Ecotourism Policies

In order to maintain the delicate balance of nature we have imposed ourselves strict standards that should allow for future generations to enjoy what we have been entrusted with:

- The lodge was built on stilts in order to minimize the impact to the surrounding vegetation.

- All soaps, detergents and shampoos used are biodegradable.

- Sewage goes through a three-step drainage process.

- Waste is disposed using the most appropriate mechanisms.

- Plastic, glass and metal waste is packed and flown to the city.

- Paper waste is burned.

- Biodegradable garbage is composted.

- Batteries are collected by visitors and brought back to countries with appropriate recycling facilities.

- Our canoes are equipped with four-stroke outboard engines, which minimize noise and pollution considerably.

- The entire lodge is powered by a hybrid system of solar energy and a diesel generator.

- Our solar-heated showers provide 5 gallons of hot water per cabin each day.

Kapawi represents a new model in the implementation of sustainable ecotourism, built on a respectful relationship between a private enterprise and an Indigenous group from the Amazon. The objectives of Kapawi are two:

1. To implement a two million dollar project in an indigenous territory, by leasing their land, sharing benefits, and passing the know-how and installations to the Achuar. At the end of a 15 year period, the project will be owned and managed by the Achuar. Meanwhile Kapawi seeks to recover the investment and to obtain a profit.

2. To facilitate the Achuar’s request for partnership with the outside world by contributing to the creation of a not-for-profit organization that provides access to technical expertise and funding for a variety of Achuar projects. These projects are all intended to enhance the Achuar’s ability to manage integration with the modern world on their own terms and to defend their land against encroachment.

Before Kapawi, most of the Achuar based their external economy on cattle ranching. Today, members of the 56 Achuar communities base a significant percentage of their economy on ecotourism. For the communities near the lodge up to 60% of their total income comes from direct employment, supplying products to the ecotourism project and handicraft sales that represent 21%.

Nature is not the only priority that Kapawi has set forth. Preserving traditional knowledge and culture in the Amazon is also key to maintaining the social and ecological equilibrium.

 

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