The Kichwa community of Chichicorumi sits beside the Rio Napo, 45 minutes by bus from the town of Tena. It is the location for a project called Kamak Maki where a local family are constructing an ethnographic musuem, a small zoo featuring local species, a medicinal garden, and fishponds that also will feature local species. There are cabañas and a toilet for volunteers and visitors and a kitchen/dining area. The family of our local director, Alonso, lives on the site, which has very basic electricity and running water. Bathing most often takes place in the nearby river.
This project, Kamak Maki, is principally supported by 20 members of the family of Alonso, and aims to preserve and promote the culture and ancestral knowledge of the inhabitants of the area. One of the first of such initiatives, it now serves as a model for other communities striving to protect and preserve their cultures and environments.
Local families round about live by farming small plots set in what remains of the rainforest, growing yucca, maize, platanos, etc., and raising pigs and chickens. There is internet access and telephone in Chichicorumi, as well as a small clinic and school.
Our projects from 2007 to 2011 have included:
Volunteering/Cultural Exchange Opportunities
Long-term volunteers are welcome to teach English and other subjects in the local school, and to work on the project in general. Especially welcome are volunteers with botanical knowledge to help cataloguing and working with medicinal plants.