In 1976 following a land reform act, a group of local landless
campesino (countryside) families bought the land which is now Santa Lucia
Reserve. They formed an agricultural cooperative and began clearing areas of
the forest to farm. Living and working in the forest was hard as the land is
steep and far from markets, but for the first time these families had access to
land and were able to make a living.
However, land in the cloud forest quickly degrades once it has been
cleared and in time the environmental problems of farming in the forest became
apparent. In addition in 1988 the area was declared part of the Bosque
Protector (Protected Forest) making hunting and clear-felling illegal thus
threatening the families’ livelihoods. Members of the cooperative began to look
for alternative ways of making a living from their land and in the late 1990s
identified ecotourism as a way to allow them to protect rather than clear the
forest.
In 1999 they began to build the eco-lodge with fallen wood from the
forest; trails were made in the reserve with much appreciated help from
volunteers and other organisations such as Maquipicuna, Rainforest Concern UK
and Quest Overseas. The eco-tourism project was born.
Objectives
Mission:
Today the mission of Santa Lucia is to create jobs and other benefits
by means of a well run ecotourism business which allows us to conserve the
forest and which respects the values of cooperative members and those of the
community.
Community:
In an area of scarce paid employment we provide jobs and a modest
income for our members as well as other local people. Training ensures that
local people work at all levels in the organisation and we are proud to say
that Santa Lucia is truly a community owned and community run organisation. We
strive to extend benefits to the wider community e.g. through our working
practices, environmental education and our volunteer programme.
Conservation:
Despite preventative legislation, hunting and land invasion for
agriculture is common in areas of protected forest in Ecuador. It is a mark of
Santa Lucia’s success that the local community respect the limits of our
reserve and there is no hunting or clear-felling in our forest. In addition,
through our reforestation programme, with support from volunteers, we have planted
native trees in 20 hectares of degraded land in the reserve.
Location:
Santa Lucia Reserve is located North-west of
Ecuadors capital city, Quito in the Pinchicha region at map reference 78˚36’03”W
00˚6’53”N.
The altitudinal range of the reserve is from 1300m to 2600m and the total area
covered by the reserve exceeds 720 hectares.
