Protect The Amazon Rainforest In Tena, Ecuador

Hi, my name is Calen Otto, and vegan activist from the US, and I'm fundraising on behalf of Diego Robles, an Ecuadorian who lives in Tena, the gateway to the Amazon.

Meet Diego & Jungle Roots Glamping: A Hostel Fueling Social Change

I met Diego when I went and stayed at his eco-glamping site called Jungle Roots Glamping. He uses his eco-conscious lodge to not only host travelers from all over the world, but to fuel and bring about social change through sustainable building projects and river education & conservation via white water sports. I quickly saw how fast Diego was to bring local adults, hostel guests and kids to the river in hopes that they could experience it through his eyes and yearn to protect it.

Eco Unrest In The Amazon Because Of Damming & Mining

While we were staying at Jungle Roots Glamping protests were happening nearby due to illegal damming by a big company that stripped local indigenous people of their land rights, properties, and water: their life source. The company CVA/Compania Villacreces Andrade together with the corporation Elit has destroyed and dried up parts of the Rio Pusuno which is a tributary to the Rio Napo, leaving destruction in its path. Diego isn't just concerned as an avid kayaker; he's seen the havoc that these large companies have caused, leaving locals without access to water and or their own homelands, and aquatic animals who dwell in the local rivers to the parish.

While I was there I realized just how ugly and urgent the whole situation is. While locals are still battling the damming companies, a new threat has popped up. The jungle that directly surrounds Jungle Roots Camping is for sale, and if Diego doesn't buy the 100 hectares the mining company will. They will destroy the habitat of countless humans and nonhuman animals alike.

Diego's Plan To Protect The Land

While the future seems pretty grim, Diego has a plan. He hopes to raise enough money to buy the land and safely protect it - legally - as his own.

He plans on using 10 hectares of that land to set up a sustainable building & carpentry school and grow a garden. There, he will teach people of all ages (with a special focus on children) about sustainable carpentry and food-growing skills.

The other 90 hectares will be left as a natural reserve, protected and monitored by Diego himself.

Diego needs the following amount of money to reach his goals:

Please spread the word and donate what you can so that Diego can turn this dream into a reallity and protect a little piece of the Amazon that so many lives depend upon. You can follow Diego here and Wil Henkel here, a fellow US activist who avidly documents the river and land destruction, to learn more.