Morona - Features - Vision - Goals

Key Reserve features will be:

Visitor Center/reception: This will be the main headquarters for the Reserve and where visitors to the property go first to get oriented. The cooking and dining facilities may be in, or connected to, this structure as well as lounging and gathering space. Basic information about the reserve, trails, viewpoints and dangers will be in this area and it will be where people gather to meet with guides before leaving the immediate center compound.

School/library: This will be the education center of the Reserve and a gathering place for visitors, researchers, guides and local people to meet for organized classroom instruction, workshops, meetings and other community functions. Resource material such as books, film, video, photography will be stored here as will research project information and other information pertinent to the functioning of the facility. This center will be available for educators and researchers visiting the reserve. Attracting one, or more, universities to utilize the reserve and surrounding areas for research pertaining to the study in botany, zoology, entomology, herpetology, and cultural anthropology is anticipated. Local youth will be trained and hired as guides for visitors, students and researchers and the school facility will provide work space, basic supplies and a resource library. As people use the reserve for education and research purposes the value of information contained within will grow and benefit future seekers.

Lodging: To begin there will be several small, two person huts set up for hammocks and with a sleeping platform. Reserve residents will have their own habitation near the main center cluster. As this is not intended to be a resort the lodging will be comfortable yet rustic. One of the purposes of the reserve is for visitors to have a cultural experience in the traditional lifestyles of the Amazon cultures as well as visiting the rainforest, studying the plants, animals, or insects. As the usage increases other structures will be constructed, in traditional style, to accommodate the additional people.

Gardens: The reserve will be as self-reliant as possible and yet there will be items that will need to be purchased such as salt, sugar and rice. However, the gardens will provide much in the way of staples like yucca root, yams, bananas, plantains, peppers, corn and squash, other vegetables, and nuts. There will be tree fruits and citrus in season as well as nuts and seeds gathered wild from the forest. Foraging will still be an important part of the diet but with deforestation there is a shortage of available game and edible plants such as palm. The river will supply fish and some produce, game and other food stuffs can be purchased from the locals helping their build their economy. A small fish pond for raising fish for the residents and visitors will be considered if usage warrants it. Re-forestation of non-reserve lands with gardens and beneficial trees and plants will be encouraged and supported.

Health Clinic: The clinic will have important medicines, nutrients, equipment and materials needed to supply the people with basic health care. There is a hospital in Macas for critical cases and medical transport can be by air or boat, or both. The purpose of the clinic is to provide a medical presence at the reserve and a space to teach nutrition, sanitation and other forms of health care. For most cases herbal remedies will be sufficient and this will help keep alive the traditional plant knowledge while providing for the people. Introduced diseases, malaria, and acute infections make modern medicines a necessity and the philosophy will be to take a homeopathic and holistic approach to health care and combine proven herbal treatments with modern medicine when necessary. Also, the clinic will provide a space for local people to meet and discuss issues such as medical needs, sanitation, and nutrition and to combine their resources to meet the needs of their families and communities.

Nursery: Much of the forest in the surrounding area has been cleared for the timber, pasture, subsistence agriculture or fish ponds and have lost their native value. Increased dependence upon money for household supplies, school needs, medicine and food has forced locals to change their relationship to the forest. Having a nursery at the Morona Reserve will make it possible to develop the plant stock to replant areas that have been deforested and a place to teach locals about the plants and their uses. Many native plant species can be cultivated and planted to help insure native food sources, wood for canoes and constructing homes, herbal cures for ailments and plants for their traditional ceremonies. The nursery will be a outdoor classroom to teach about the importance of a healthy forest, how to care for the plants, take cuttings, collect and preserve seeds and correct planting procedures. The native peoples have been and should continue to be the stewards of the forest however, with the current rate of deforestation they need some help. A nursery would make possible the protection of threatened and endangered species of plants and potentially animals and birds. For instance the native people tell us that certain species of parrots, or macaws, nest only in certain bromeliads; lose one and you loose the other. Having a nursery would also have unseen benefits to the communities, such as helping teach and preserve their language, rebuilding community ties and relationships and potentially provide another source of income by supplying plants for other reforestation projects. The preservation of their cultural knowledge and providing a model for other communities to follow in their land preservation efforts are also important outcomes of the nursery project.