Our mission
Yanapuma Foundation is a cooperatively run NGO
whose aims are to facilitate sustainable practices in poor urban and
rural communities throughout Ecuador, and to encourage intercultural
exchange that fosters mutual benefit and learning in a globalizing
world. Click here to find out more.
Our programs
Yanapuma offers volunteers the opportunity to
contribute to the development of these communities in several ways;
through long-term volunteering opportunities, shorter group projects,
and cultural exchange programs. We also offer internships with the
foundation as well as supervised study and research opportunities. You
can learn about all of these by clicking on the relevant tab of the menu
bar above.
The communities
Yanapuma works with communities in the Amazon
rainforest, in the sierra, and at the coast, as well as offering options
to work with projects in Quito. Once you are familiar with the kinds of
volunteer programs that we offer, please browse the communities that we
work with to find out how you can help.
Learn Spanish
For those needing to learn Spanish before
volunteering we offer Spanish classes through our professional Spanish
school in Quito. You can also volunteer in Quito while taking classes,
as well as exploring the rich culture and history of Ecuador. Classes
can be especially tailored to your needs as a volunteer, and are the
best way to combine learning the language with learning about the social
and cultural reality of Ecuador. We can also offer the chance to study with your own teacher while staying in an indigenous communitiy. Click here to find out more.
About us
Yanapuma Foundation is a cooperatively run
foundation with 6 members (click here to find out who we are). Founded in September of 2006, its mission is to help indigenous
populations to manage their development in a way that allows them to
protect their environment and their cultural heritage, and to manage and
maintain control of their resources into the future. Our cooperative
structure as a foundation reflects our approach to working with
communities in an egalitarian and mutually respectful way that takes
full account of their needs and wishes as they adapt to the demands of a
globalized world. Click here to learn
about current activities and the projects we have undertaken so far.
Philosophy and Methods
As a new foundation we are developing methods of
helping communities to help themselves, offering our expertise,
technical support, and connections both national and international in
the process of defining a sustainable path for their future. This
process traverses many fields; social, cultural, environmental,
educational, agronomic, etc. To this end Yanapuma cooperates with other
foundations in order to be able to offer a coordinated and inclusive
response to the needs of any particular community. We believe it is
important to support sustainable practices on multiple levels in order
to present viable and holistic options.
The starting point for the work of Yanapuma Foundation is the simple observation that globalization is happening to indigenous communities, like it or not. It is a process that forces them to become involved in economic activities, a role for which they are most often culturally unprepared and uneducated. The result is that they join the economic ladder at the bottom, and are ill-prepared to face the challenges that are forced upon them by a new set of rules. Up against the competing interests of loggers, colonists and mestizos, petrol and mining companies and speculators, who hold very different views on the value of their culture and environment, indigenous peoples struggle to maintain their traditional values and relationship to the environment. Read more . . .
EOS Ecuador
Yanapuma has been involved with the creation of a new responsible travel agency, EOS Ecuador, whose aim is to promote the community-run tourism projects that we are developing as a foundation and to generate profits that will be reinvested in the further development of sustainable community-run and responsible tourism in Ecuador. Click here to go to the website.
Through Eos we can book conventional Galapagos, Amazon, Sierra, and other tours for our students, volunteers and interns, as well as the general public, while using a portion of the profits to reinvest in the development of responsible tourism. |
