Mashpi hosts visits from local schools – most of its guides come from these communities – and many of those locals are going even further by getting directly involved in ecotourism themselves and creating alternative lodges that are more affordable. Gabriel says he and his father plan to build their own lodge one day, on land that his father owns.
Roque Sevilla welcomes the competition. “That would be my dream,” he says. “We built Mashpi Lodge to protect the forest and to inspire others. It generates enough revenue to look after the 2,500 hectares, but we want to protect 500,000 hectares of the Choco-Andean rainforest in the next decade. We’ll never do that by buying up the land, so we work with other landowners to achieve that goal. If that means they set up their own lodges, then all the better.”
Mashpi Lodge, EcuadorChris Fynes
Sevilla is president of the Futuro Group, which includes insurance and logistics businesses. “We put 3 per cent of our gross profits into a foundation that encourages sustainable farming and pays farmers to plant trees on unused land,” Sevilla says. “We also started a movement to halt oil extraction in the Amazon and gold mining in the Choco-Andes.” Last year, Ecuador voted in a national referendum to stop both. “I want to leave this country in a better state for my grandchildren because our greatest wealth is nature itself.”
Scott Dunn offers a 10-night Ecuador and Galapagos itinerary from £6,950 per person based on a couple travelling, including stays at Casa Gangotena Hotel, Ecuador, Finch Bay Hotel, Galapagos, and Mashpi Lodge, Ecuador, selected experiences, private transfers, and flights from London – Quito. For more information, please visit scottdunn.com or call 0203 468 9752.
