permaculture

[Wesley Roe and Marjorie Lakin Erickson <lakinroe@silcom.com>]

Long-term volunteer needed for
Tropical Mountain Permaculture
Project in Ecuador
        The Los Cedros Protected Forest www.reservaloscedros.org was 
established in 1989 and work for the recognition as an National Protected 
Area resulted in the declaration of Bosque Protector in 1994.  Over 17 
years populations of birds and mammals have notably increased to the point 
where the reserve has been chosen to become a training center for primate 
conservation in association with the University of Sussex and a Darwin 
Initiative project, Primenet.   Conservation work in the reserve is being 
carried out by local scientist and students.  Primenet is training a 
community based group of para-biologists who will be collecting data on 
primate populations from their bases in the villages closest to the 
remaining forested areas of Northwest Ecuador.

                Through out the years of conservation efforts Permaculture 
has been a integral part of the development of habitat concepts in and 
around Los Cedros and a new area has been identified for intensified 
development of a sustainable model.   Among considerations taken into 
account for the establishment of this new Permaculture site are 
reforestation of practically all areas adjacent to the current 
administrative buildings and the institution of silveculture systems in 
existing pastures with emphasis on providing food sources for primates in 
the wild.   This means happily that today monkeys are getting at the fruit 
planted by previous Permaculture activity here at Los Cedros and we have to 
move this program further away from the primates.

                The new site is located on the very boundary of this 
protected area where the area is closer to community activity and several 
hectares of acceptably workable land are available.  While many 
Permaculture techniques have been applied to differing sites in NW Ecuador 
much has been learned and the application of any land use modification in 
the mountainous tropics has to conducted with the care that comes with 
experience.

                                The project has identified a family which 
would be available to care for this project on a daily basis and attend to 
volunteers who would be recruited for the actual construction of this 
model.   We are looking for a person or persons who would be responsible 
for overall design and management for the first year.  .

                The new site offers many advantages including warmer 
climate for fruit and vegetable production, the largest level ground area 
available for modification and location close to school for caretaker 
family and community interface.  With the increased scientific activity it 
is now necessary to increase food production capacity that is likely to 
provide a sustainable living for caretakers.  It is also foreseen that 
further residential areas will have to be provided at the new site for 
volunteer and visitor from distant communities.

Contact Jose Decoux loscedros@ecuanex.net.ec