| Rio
Muchacho is an organic farm a horseback ride away from the
main coastal highway near Bahía
de Caráquez and beachside town of Canoa in Ecuador's
coastal province of Manabi. The farm is run by a local family
of Don Gonzalo and his wife, Margarita. The architecture of
the central farmhouse of 'cana gradua' is similar to the designs
introduced by well-known coastal eco-hotel, Alanduluz,
located farther down the Ecuadorian coast.
Rio Muchacho's unique 'green design' offers dry-composting toilets,
organic and inorganic recycling, and a permaculture cottage
garden of fruits and vegetables. As visitors we stayed in a
fairy-tale treehouse 40-feet above a small stream. The surrounding
fields produce bananas, peanuts, pineapple, maracuya, corn,
yucca and other fruits all grown organically with the central
idea being not to feed the crop plants, but to feed the earth.
The founders, Nicola Mears and Dario Proa–o-Leroux, are
constantly experimenting with new techniques such as the 'banana
circle and pit' designed to conserve water and concentrate organic
compost.
A ten minute walk from the farm, the founders of Rio Muchacho
have set-up an eco-escuela complete with sustainable design,
organic gardening, recycling, worm compost, and even a banana
circle. One central part of the school's curriculum is encouraging
students to try out organic techniques in their homes and gardens.
This year over 50 students will be attending while the government-funded
school nearby will only receive 5 students. Funding for the
school is a wide mixture of donations from tourists, income
from the Rio Muchacho project, and small tuitions paid by students
according to their family's ability.
According to Nicola Mears, co-owner of Guacamayo Bahiatours,
the Rio Muchacho tourism project was set up primarily as a way
to fund the school. Having experience in tourism development,
both stressed how tourism is so often a negative social force
and their desire to only allow tourists to visit their project
if it was structured in a very different way than they had seen
elsewhere. This integrated structure and family-based service
approach was inspiring in how it transformed typical tourist-resident
interactions.
After our first dinner with Don Gonzalo, Margarita, and their
four kids, I realized how truly unique this project was. I felt
like we were truly guests in their home, welcomed into their
lives. At meals, learning how to make crafts from tagua nuts
or 'mate' bowls, or on horseback searching for howler monkeys,
or in the stream below fishing with nets for fresh-water shrimp
we were able to be ourselves, open ourselves up to Don Gonzalo,
Margarita and their family.
For more information about visiting or volunteering at Rio Muchacho
or the many other ecologically and socially responsible projects
in the area initiated by Nicola and Dario, contact Guacamayo
Bahiatours in Bahia de Caraquez. Dario and Nicola are truly
inspiring people and their Rio Muchacho project offers a new,
innovative approach to structuring a new form of alternative
travel.
Scott Braman, a recent
graduate of Dartmouth College, is currently in Ecuador researching
ecotourism and cultural tourism with a Fullbright Scholarship.
The focus of his work is with indigenous communities, such as
the Huaorani, in the Amazon. He also visits innovative tourism
projects throughout Ecuador. He can be reached via email |
