NATIONAL TOURISM GUIDE

TOURISM OF VOLUNTEERISM IN

BY NATALY GABRIELA ALBAN PINO

QUITO – NOVEMBER 2014 VOLUNTEER TOURISM IN NAPO PROVINCE

BY: NATALY GABRIELA ALBAN PINO

CHECKED BY:

Firma:______Firma:______Professional Guide Tutor

Firma:______Firma:______English Teacher Carrere Coordinator

GRATITUDE

First of all I would like to thank God for allowing me to overcome my fears to complete this professional achievement, I thank my parents Patricia and Fernando who have been my example and my support in my development as a person, I thank the UCT University and my teachers for all the knowledge imparted. And I thank my boyfriend Cristopher Valencia who motivates me every day to be better and to overcome any obstacles that comes in my life.

DEDICATION

This thesis is dedicated to the most important people in my life, my parents, my sisters, my nephew and the loves of my life My son Julian and my boyfriend Cristopher, I share this achievement with them.

INDEX

i. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 ii. INTRODUCTION 3 iii. TOPIC DEFINITION AND JUSTIFICATION 4 iv. OBJECTIVES 4 v. METHODS 5 vi. ROUTES 6 vii. WEIGHTING ROUTE 7 viii. OPERATING ITINERARY 8 ix. OPERATING ITINERARY BUDGET 10 x. ATTRACTIONSRESEARCH 12 xi. WEIGHTING ATRACTION SAN CARLOS COMMUNITY 16 xii. WEIGHTING ATRACTION OPERATIVE TOUR 17 xiii. BIBLIOGRAPHY 27

TOURISM OF VOLUNTEERISMIN THE NAPO PROVINCE, ECUATORIAN RAIN FOREST

xiv. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Nowadays, the tourism of volunteerism is a reality. Many people around the world have changed their opinion about trips. Many years ago, tourists preferred traveling with other purposes but now things are changing. The difference between both traditional tourism and tourism of volunteerism is that itcreates an alternative in order to help peoplewho have opportunities tolearn about a new culture and live together with a“Kichwa” family that lives in contact with the environment.

In recent years, more people are deciding to take part in this type of tourism sincethey consider that it is a different way to visit a new place and the tourist can exchange both experiences and lifestyle with the community where they are visiting. Another important thing that motivates this kind of trip is that the tourists want to help save the environment.

But what does solidary tourism mean? This type of tourism has an important motivation, the solidarity with the environment and the community. Nowadays, in Ecuador this new typology trend in tourism is used as the main motivation for travelers who want to visit Ecuador especially in the rainforest.

Many people around the world are interested to come to Ecuador and live a different experience, exchanging their cultural differences and workingtogether in order to foster the touristic projects indifferent communities in the Ecuadorian Rainforest. These tourists work like a freelance, the most important remuneration is not money but the satisfaction of knowing that they are working for both saving the environment and helping the communities.

The Ecuadorian Amazon presents the opportunity to do thistourism of volunteerism, thanks to the initiative of the different indigenous communities.These projects have a great success on the tourists who visit Ecuador and find the chance to share an important experience for their lives.

The province of Napo is one of the most representative places in Ecuador where both the national and foreign tourists canwork together with the communities and find the chance to meet new cultures and traditions of people who live there.

Working together to improve both the living conditions of the communities and the environment is the main motivation and expectation of the trip. Ecuadorian rainforest offers travelers this unique opportunity to have a new experience to live more sustainably, creating a mixture among nature, culture, community work, touristic development and the experience of living with people of other communities.

xv. INTRODUCTION

The Amazon region is considered to be the lung of the world. In 2011, it was declared one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It is considered one of the places where a great amount of biodiversity inhabits in the world.The tourism of volunteerism is an alternative that allows both the national and foreign tourists to bedirectly linked with the nature, the environment and the community.It is interesting to see that in the province of Napo, this alternative is drawing the tourists’ attention when they visit the rainforest. The main motivation is to help and perform a good action for the conservation of the environment and surrounding communities. The tourism of volunteerism is born as a new alternative in the community tourism. Small rural communities share their homes with tourists so that they can live with them and as a result, they can learn part of their local lifestyle and their ancestral knowledge.

The idea of tourismof volunteerism is that the tourist can enjoy both this new opportunity andthe experience of living with a “Kichwa” family knowingtheir daily activities. Also, they learn habits which they can use, to work directly on the needs of the community and also to help in the formation or the training for members of the community.For instance, tourists can teach English to the community. Thanks to this alternative,travelers can have more contact with people, knowing the customs and the way of life of these communities.People of these communities canbecome native guides in the future and the profit generatedit is used to invest in community projects.

Near TenaCanton, you can find several community projects that are implementing this new alternative. The “Ricancie” project is one of them. People living there are interested in providing a different experience to the tourists who visit them, coexisting with the community, preserving the environment, giving support to thecommunity projects and enjoying the nature and cultural attractions that are part of the touristicoffer thateach community gives to the visitors.

xvi. TOPIC DEFINITION AND JUSTIFICATION

It is a research project to determine the importance and development of the tourism of volunteerism in “Kichwa” communities of Tena in the province of Napo, living with the community and having a cultural exchange and environmental support.

xvii. OBJECTIVES:

• GENERAL OBJECTIVE.-

• To research the development of tourism of volunteerism in communities near in the province of Napo and to know the different touristic attractions, costumes and traditions of the “Kichwa” nationality.

• SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES.-

• To live with the community during a weekend and to have a cultural exchange, learning about their culture.

• To know the initiative of the community to develop itself in the tourism field and how the volunteers benefit from this activity.

• To discover the cultural and natural attractions that the community has.

• To makecomplementary activities at the service of the community, linking directly with the needs of it.

xviii. METHODS

The main method of research of this thesis is to gather field information, make several visits identifying different touristic potentials that have relationships with the activity ofvolunteerism. Making interviews and visits to communities that work with this kind oftourismin the province of Napo.

TECHNIQUES

As main technique usedfor the development of the thesis was the dialogue and interview with the communities and visits to travel agencies that run these business in Tena canton.

xix. ROUTES

1. ROUTE QUITO - BAEZA- TENA: Take the Panamericana Highway located northeast of Quito. Continuing the journey, enjoy the beautiful landscapes of the moorlands of Cayambe-Coca National Park, Antisana Ecological Reserve, and several waterfalls.Following the route, you can observe the Papallacta lake, also visit Papallacta town which is a famous place for its medicinal hot springs. Later, pass the city of Baeza. On the way, small villages like Tena, Cosanga,Cotundo, Archidona had to be passed to reach the City of Tena. Approximate travel time: about 4h30

2. ROUTE QUITO – BAÑOS- PUYO- TENA: Take the road from Quito towards the south. Visit the town of Sangolqui, also take a look at the Hummingbird and Corn monuments. Continuing with the journey, visit Pasochoa Wildlife Refuge, villages like Aloag, Machachi, , Yambo Lake, the city of Ambato in the province of Tungurahua, Pelileo and the city of Baños. Later, find the entrance to Rainforest Region and visit the city of Puyo, and finally arrive to the city of Tena. Approximate travel time: about 6h30

3. ROUTE QUITO- CANGAGUA- OYACACHI: Take the route from Quito to the east, visit Tumbaco parish, also visit the Quinche parish that has the main attraction “La iglesia de nuestra señora del Quinche”. Following your tour, visit the “Guachala” parish in inwhich its main attraction is the “Hacienda Guachala” where the first French Geodesic mission stayed. Then, visit the “Cangahua” parish located in the southeast of the Cayambe canton. Along the way, you can appreciate beautiful moorland that has a specific flora and fauna, and finally, you reach the community of Oyacachi. Approximate travel time: about5h30

xx. WEIGHTING ROUTE:

The north-west access is the fastest and most direct route to the Rainforest region. Take the route from Quito to Tena that takes about 4 hours and a half.

The diversity of flora and fauna is considered to be ofgreat potential in the area thanks to the presence of some protected areas. The presence of microclimates in the foothills of the mountain range and the amazing jungle are very appreciated by the visitors. Also, you can find the presence of the “Kichwa” community and the different activities that they make (festivals, religious practices, music, arts and crafts, and also the presence of archaeological findings and architectural resources in the province. For these reasons, the weighting route is QUITO-BAEZA-TENA.

xxi. OPERATING ITINERARY

VOLUNTEER TOUR IN NAPO PROVINCE

DAY 1

TIME ACTIVITY PLACE

07:00 PICK UP UCT UNIVERSITY EL VIEJO RESTAURANT - 10:00 BREAKFAST BAEZA

10:40 TRAVEL TO TENA CITY

12:00 ARRIVAL TENA CITY

12:10 CHECK IN CHUQUITOS HOTEL

13:00 LUNCH CHUQUITOS HOTEL SAN CARLOS 14:00 TRAVEL COMMUNITY

DIABETIC'S ASSOCIATION - SAN 14:40 VISIT CARLOS COMMUNITY RECOGNIZE MEDICINAL SAN CARLOS 15:00 PLANTS COMMUNITY

PREPARE THE GROUND SAN CARLOS 15:30 FOR STEVIA PLANTS COMMUNITY SAN CARLOS 17:30 FINISH THE ACTIVITY COMMUNITY

18:30 ARRIVAL CHUQUITOS HOSTRY

19:30 DINNER CHUQUITOS HOSTRY

OPERATING ITINERARY

VOLUNTEER TOUR IN NAPO PROVINCE

DAY 2

TIME ACTIVITY PLACE

07:30 BREAKFAST CHUQUITOS HOTEL

08:00 CHECK OUT CHUQUITOS HOTEL

08:10 TRAVEL PUMA RUMI COMMUNITY

08:45 ARRIVAL AND VISIT PUMA RUMI COMMUNITY

09:00 COCOA PLANTING PUMA RUMI COMMUNITY

AMAZON CHOCOLATE 10:00 FINE FLAVOR PUMA RUMI COMMUNITY PREPARATION

11:30 RECYCLING ACTIVITY PUMA RUMI COMMUNITY

TYPICAL NAPO 12:30 PROVINCE LUNCH PUMA RUMI COMMUNITY

14:00 END OF THE TOUR PUMA RUMI COMMUNITY

14:10 TRAVEL QUITO

18:00 ARRIVAL UCT UNIVERSITY

xxii. OPERATING ITINERARY BUDGET

BE A VOLUNTEER TOUR DURING: 2 DAYS 1 NIGHT CODE-001 COST PER PERSON: $235.00

TOUR BUDGET UNITY SERVICE PROVIDER COST QUANTITY UNITY COST MR. WILSON TRANSPORT PUETATE $ 140.00 2 DAYS $ 280.00 EL VIEJO BREAKFAST RESTAURANT $ 4.00 5 PEOPLE $ 20.00 CHUQUITOS ACOMMODATION HOTEL $ 30.00 5 PEOPLE $ 150.00 CHUQUITOS LUCH HOTEL $ 10.00 5 PEOPLE $ 50.00 CHUQUITOS DINNER HOTEL $ 50.00 5 PEOPLE $ 50.00 LAS RUTAS DE NATIVE GUIDE GABRIEL $ 100.00 2 DAYS $ 200.00 NATIVE GUIDE LOCAL TRANSPORT TRANSPORT $ 10.00 2 DAYS $ 20.00 PUMA RUMI LUNCH COMMUNITY $ 5.00 15 PEOPLE $ 75.00 LAS RUTAS DE COCOA PLANTS GABRIEL $ 10.00 5 PLANTS $ 50.00 LAS RUTAS DE FIELD WORKER GABRIEL $ 50.00 1 WORKER $ 50.00 CONSTRUCTION PUMA RUMI MATERIAL COMMUNITY $ 30.00 1 DONNATION $ 30.00 SAN CARLOS FOODSTUFFS COMMUNITY $ 50.00 1 DONNATION $ 50.00 IMAGINE RAINFOREST SOUVENIERS AGENCY $ 20.00 5 PEOPLE $ 100.00 TOUR BUDGET COST $ 1,165.00 COST PER PERSON $ 235.00

DEVELOPMENT BUDGET UNITY SERVICE PROVIDER COST QUANTITY UNITY COST GAS PRIMAX $ 2.00 10 GALLONS $ 20.00 GAS PRIMAX $ 2.00 10 GALLONS $ 20.00 CHUQUITOS ACOMMODATION HOTEL $ 30.00 2 PEOPLE $ 60.00 CHUQUITOS ACOMMODATION HOTEL $ 30.00 2 PEOPLE $ 60.00 DIFFERENT MEALS PROVIDERS $ 20.00 2 PEOPLE $ 40.00 LAS RUTAS DE NATIVE GUIDE GABRIEL $ 50.00 1 GUIDE $ 50.00 DEVELOPMENT BUDGET $ 250.00

By: Nataly Albán

THE MAIN TOURISTIC ATTRACTIONS IN THE PROVINCE OF NAPO TOURISM OF VOLUNTEERISM L AS AN ALTERNATIVE OF COMMUNITY TOURISM

xxiii. ATTRACTIONSRESEARCH The tourism of volunteerism has had a great development in the last years in different . In the Amazon region,there are about 40 community projects dedicated to thetourismbased on the community, ecotourism and volunteerism.

Napo is one of the best examples of this alternative, many national and foreign tourists are interested in participating as volunteers.The tourists improve some feelings such asthe solidarity, respect and commitment with the environment and surrounding communities.

For example, in the province of Napo you can find the Ricancie project, which includes about eight communities where tourists can do their work as volunteers.

Ricancie was created to protect natural and cultural resources of the Kichwa communities, to improve the quality of life of Kichwa families, and to promote an alternative agriculture. The main objective is to eliminate the aggressive tourism that attacksthe sociocultural and environmental balance. The communities are:

• ALUKUS It is located in Llanganates National Park, one hour away from Tena by car. It is the perfect destination for adventurous people who want to take long hikings in the mountains, look at waterfalls or climb mountains about 40 meters up. Visitors can take a bath and purify themselves in the natural pool “WaysaYacu”, and waterfalls “AmarunKachi” and “Alukus”. They can visit sacred sites and a museum about the Kichwa culture. Finally, they can observe different species of butterflies. Other activities are visits toorchids trails, fishing, making crafts, hiking, learning about the ancestral knowledge of culture, history and indigenous traditions.

Its main objective is to maintain the cultural identity of indigenous people, conservation of the ecosystem and intercultural interaction with visitors from different countries.

• CHUVA URKU It is named “Urku” thanks to the “Urku” mountain. It is located near Tena canton, to reach there you must travel1 hour by car, 45 minutes by motor boat and 1 hour on foot through the primary forest. From the natural vantage point ChuvaUrku, you can observe the Napo River and, if time allows, the Sumaco volcano. On the way back, you can visit Kichwa communities and Animal Rescue Center "The Amazon". Also,there are a lot of monkeys called chuva (Spider Monkey) which can also be observed.The main objective is to work in community tourism as a new alternative to find the best way to protect and to preserve the life in the territory.

• MACHAKUYAKU It is located about 45 minutes the city of Tena by car. The community is located near a place where there are a school, a child development center and a first aid station. The community invites you to live in a Kichwa family, to discover their daily lifestyle, to prepare traditional food and drinks, to learn traditional farming practices, to create their own crafts, to share your story and folktales, to learn to survive in the jungle and to cure stress using herbs and medicinal plants. It has a natural swimming pool that has healing powers. They can hike through the secondary forest. You can also swim in the waterfalls and to practice tubing on the Napo River.

• RIO BLANCO The community is located about1 hour by car, 25 minutes by motor boat and 2 hours walking from Tena. Rio Blanco is recognized by the gardens of medicinal plants and shamanic ceremonies. You can take a bath in the waterfall of the Anaconda (AmarunPakcha), live with a Kichwa family, participate in a farmingwork and know how their everyday life is.

• RUNA WASI The community is located about1 hour by car and 25 minutes by motorized canoe of Tena town. You can take short hikings to a natural vantage point.Then, you can see the Anaconda island, visit the Animal Rescue Center "The Amazon", trips on traditional canoes where you can practice adventurous activities such as tubing, rafting and sport fishing.

• SINCHIPURA It is located about 25 minutes of Tena by car. The community islocated on the banks of JatunYaku River. It has natural pools, also you can visit the petroglyph Puma Rumi and PasuUrku natural vantage point where you can see the Suma covolcano. You can live with a Kichwa family to know their daily life and participate in agriculture, handicraft manufactured, preparation of their traditional foods and drinks. One of the biggest attractions is theCategory III for rafting in the JatunYaku River.

• WASILA TALAG The Kichwa Community WasilaTalag is located in the Talag Parish inTena canton. It islocated about 30 minutes of Tena by car. The activities proposed bytheir community are: hiking trails to Wasila Mountains in Llanganates National Park, visits to the vantage point of Talag River, visits to the Pita Yacu waterfall, hiking trails in primary and secondary forest, bird watching, rafting Class III in JatunYaku river, living with the community, dance, shamanism, crafts and legends.

• PACTO SUMACO The Pacto Sumaco Kichua Community is located near Cotundo parish, in Archidona Canton about2 hours and a half of Tena. The activities offered by the community are to visit the Sumaco National Park, to climb the Sumaco volcano, to walk through primary forest, to visit waterfalls and Wataruku lake, to visit “El gallito de la peña” cave, and to live with a Kichwa family.

• CAPIRONA Capirona community is located in Puerto Napo and Misahaulli Parishes in Tena canton. The activities that you can practice are: Canoe tours, sport fishing, hiking trails on primary and secondary forests, visits to the caves of Supay Uctu, handicrafts, farming, gold panning, community life with festivals, rituals, games and cooperative cleanups. The community is made up of 99%Kichwa population and 1% of mestizos (mixed race) who have emigrated from the mountains of the provinces and the coast. The main source of income is agriculture, corn plantations, and cocoa fine flavor.

• SAN CARLOS COMMUNITY The community of San Carlos is located near Tena. The main activity is the cultivation of medicinal plants, especially the cultivation of Stevia which is used to treat patients with diabetes.Inside the community there is a project named“Recreation CenterAnd Diabetic Association Together For Life” which helps and treats incurable ill patients.Annually, they receive approximately 70 volunteers who are responsible for assisting and supporting this foundation that continues growing.

xxiv. WEIGHTING ATTRACTION SAN CARLOS COMMUNITY

This weighting attraction was chosen because the main objective is to visit the center for diabetic people living inside the community. The volunteer activities consist of the support to this project in the “Stevia” cultivation and understand the properties of the medicinal plants.

Together for the lifeDiabetic’s Association

Stevia plants

xxv. WEIGHTING ATRACTION OPERATIVE TOUR

• QUITO Quito is the capital of Ecuador; we are 2850masl or 9350 feet. Its temperature is from10 until 25 degrees Celsius, its currency is the US dollar, its language is Spanish but our mother language is “kichwa”. Quito has an amazing downtown and an important history. The traditions, the architecture and Quiteño’s lifestyle were the reasons to name Quito as“Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO in September 8th 1978.

• CARCELEN The neighborhood was named “Carcelén” in honor of the Marquise de Zolanda Mariana Carcelén who was the wife of Marshal Antonio Jose de Sucre.

• CALDERON In Calderon parish, there are workshops dedicated to make “masapán” crafts (bread dough-based). These figures are made with wheat flour, water, and colors.

• PANAMERICANA HIGHWAY Now we take The Panamericana highway. This way connects the city of Quito to both the north of the country and the border with Colombia.

• COLLAS ROUTE Collas route was made by National Government of Dr. Rafael Correa, it was opened in July 31st of 2014, thanks to this route we can get to the international airport just in 15 minutes, and the route has 11 km of distance.

• MARISCAL ANTONIO JOSE DE SUCRE INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT The international airport was opened in February 20th of 2013. The construction began seven years ago and it was built to replace the old airport located at the north of the city because it was very dangerousbecause it was inside the city.

• TABABELA Tababela parish is a “Quechua” word that means Black Drawing. The climate of the area helps people who livethere to cultivate corn, strawberries and flowers.

• INTEROCENANICA ROUTE The interoceanic route connects with the Ecuadorian Amazon.In the 60’s, the military company Chimborazo Battalion built the road between Pifo and Papallacta. In 1971, the oil company William Brothers came to the area and continued with the construction of the road between “Papallacta” and “Lago Agrio”in order to begin the oil exploitation.

• MOORLANDS:

The moorland is an ecosystem that can be found in Ecuador. It is considered that it covers 7% of Ecuadorian soil, beginning from 2,800 m. to 4000m. This is an area that hassignificant amounts of water, which is used by both the communities who live in the area andcities that are located close to the moor. It is a mega-diverse habitat which has about 1,500 species of plants, variety of birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians and mammals such as: the danta, the tapir and the spectacled bear.

• NUESTRA SEÑORA DE FATIMA STOP The image of Our Lady of Fatima serves as reference point to mark the provincial border between Pichincha and Napo provinces. The image isin this place because of carriers who drive on the route and wanted to be blessed and protected on theirjourney. In Ecuador, people are very religious, there isa high percentage of Catholics, almost 81%, and other religions in smaller percentages.

• CAYAMBE COCA NATIONAL PARK Cayambe - Coca National Park. It is located to the northeast of the country. The area of the park is located in four provinces: Imbabura and Pichincha in the highland region, and Sucumbios and Napo in the Amazon region. The altitude goes from 600 meters to 5,790 meters. The main touristic attractions are Cayambe volcano (5,790 m) and Reventador (3,485 m).

• NAPO PROVINCE It is one of the provinces of the rainforest region. The province takes its name by the Napo River, the capital of the province is the city of Tena, the limits are: at north Sucumbios, at south Pastaza, at west Pichincha, Cotopaxi and Tungurahua and at east the province of Orellana. The province of Napo has five cantons: Tena the capital, Archidona,Quiijos, Chaco and ArosemenaTola. Also, the province has seven urban parishes and thirty two rural parishes. In the province, we can find many cultural and natural touristic attractions. Also, the tourists can practice some activities like adventure sports, fauna and flora watching, but the most interesting activity is to live and to know the lifestyle and traditions of the indigenous communities.

• PAPALLACTA Papallacta is known for its hot springs that have great curatives powers for some diseases such as: rheumatic problems, diabetes, obesity, gout, respiratory problems, circulation problems, skin diseases, stress, etc. Another attraction is the lake, where you can practice sport fishing. Also,from here, mountain climbers start climbing to the snowy Antisana. From this place, most of the drinking water used in Quito comes.

• CUYUJA: Cuyuja is a parish located in the“Quijo” canton in the province of Napo, the main attraction is the “Roca de Pivico” complex which is used for climbing.It is one of the newest destinations dedicated to climbing activities. It is located 12 kilometers of “Papallacta”.

• BAEZA: Baeza is located near “Quijos” river, it is considered to be the first town in the Amazon region. It is located 1950 meters above sea level. The city was destroyed by the “Quijos” culture which was against the Spanish conquest. Now, Baeza is a nice city where you can see commercial and productive activities in the place.

• COSANGA This parish belongs to the “Quijos” canton. It is a place with a lot of history to offerbecause of the contribution of “Cosanga-Píllaro” culture that lives there. In the valleys of Misaguallí and Quijo, pre-historic buildings and farming terraces (farming system) can be found. Its culture was developed in the period of integration, about the year 700 BC. Nowadays, their main economic activities are the agriculture and tourism. One of the main tourist activities in this area is the Christmas Bird Count.

• ANTISANA ECOLOGICAL RESERVE The name of the reserve is in honor of“Antisana” Volcano whose “Quechua” word means“lamb of the Mountain”. The volcano is located in the east of the mountain range and the altitude is 5758 meters. The “Miracocha” lake is another important attraction of the placewhich is important because it provides the drinking water to the city of Quito. Other natural attractions are “Secas” lake, “Mica” lake where tourists can practice sport fishing.

• SUMACO NAPO GALERAS NATIONAL PARK

It is located northeast of the Andean mountain range, between the provinces of Napo and Orellana. The climate varies according to the altitude, it is hot and humidin the lowest parts of the park with temperatures of 25 ° C and it is coldat the top of the park with temperatures below 5 C. It is one of the 380 biosphere reserves in the world declared by UNESCO. The “Sumaco” Volcano is the highest elevation of the province and it is in the center of “Sumaco” Napo-Galeras National Park.

• QUICHUA NATIONALITY There are between 30,000 and 40,000 inhabitants, this nationality is located in the province of Napo and Pastaza. The mother language is “Quechua”, the main economic activity is agriculture and now the community tourism.These communities come from the Andean highlands.When Spaniards began with the conquest in the highlands, many “Quichuas” people escaped from them and began to live in this territory.

• JUMANDI CAVES Jumandi was a native chief who led the rebellion against the spanish conquerors in 1578. The legend says that Jumand hid in the caves in order to take refuge. Also, it is an amazing natural attraction where the visitors can explore the stalactites and stalagmites and walk around one hour and a half. It is one of the most important attractions in Archidona Canton.

• ARCHIDONA Archidona is located 65 kilometers of Baeza and 10 kilometers of Tena. This town is the commercial and social center of small communities in the Quichua nationality. It is located on the valley of Misahaulli River, at an altitude of 577 meters. During the nineteenth century, it was one of the largest and most important towns in Ecuador´s Amazon region since 1861, and it was declared the capital of the province of the Amazon region.

• PETROGLYPH COTUNDO Cotundo is an important archaeological site in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Known as "The Sacred Valley" by a large number of petroglyphs found there, along with other archeological remains of cultures dating back to 10,000 BC in 2005. These petroglyphs were declared “Cultural Heritage of the Nation" in December 8th, 2005.

• TENA San Juan de los Dos Ríos de Tena is the capital of the Province of Napo. It is located south of the Napo province at510 m of altitude in the Amazon region of Ecuador. It has a warm and humid climate with an average temperature of 25 degrees Celsius. Tena is known as the Capital of the country of Cinnamon.

• SAN CARLOS COMMUNITY The community is made up of 99% of the population and 1% of mestizos (mixed race) who have emigrated from the provinces of the mountains and the coast. The main economic activity is agriculture, the main cultivated produces are: plantains, corn, and fine cocoa.The community of San Carlos is mainly involved in the cultivation of medicinal plants, especially the cultivation of “Stevia” which is used to treat patients with diabetes. The community works at“Recreation Center Diabetic Association Together For Life” in which annually they receive approximately 70 volunteers who are responsible for assisting and supporting this foundation that continues growing.

COMMUNITY WORK

RECOGNIZE MEDICINAL PLANTS

PREPARE THE GROUND FOR STEVIA PLANTS

PREPARE THE GROUND FOR STEVIA PLANTS

• PUMA RUMI COMMUNITY Puma Rumi is a “Quechua” word that means stone tiger, it is an area where we can find several petroglyphs; also, in this area the visitors can see the “JatunYaku” river where they can practice rafting as well assee a lot of crops. In this community volunteers work together with the community, they cultivate cocoa and learn to prepare Amazonic chocolate. After that the volunteers had a cultural exchange.

COCOA PLANTING

AMAZON CHOCOLATE FINE FLAVOR PREPARATION

CULTURAL EXCHANGE

xxvi. BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• VasquezMendez, G. 2012. Ecuador en la Mittad del Mundo: Guia turística y Ecologica. Quito, Ecuador: Editorial Voluntad.

• Wesche Rolf & Andy Drumm, 1999, Defending our Rainforest: a Guide to community-based Ecoturism in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Quito, Ecuador: Primeraedición, Editorial Nina Comunicaciones.

• www.ambiente.gob.ec

• http://www.metropolitantouring.com/content.asp?id_page=945

• http://birdsinecuador.com/es/capitulo-4/item/151-412-reserva-ecologica-antisana

• http://www.ambiente.gob.ec/parque-nacional-cayambe-coca/

• http://www.viajandox.com/orellana/parque-nacional-sumaco-orellana.htm

• http://www.ecuador.com/protected-areas/sumaco-napo-galeras/

• http://ricancie.nativeweb.org/html/

• http://www.tenainforma.com/turismo_comunitario.htm

• Gabriel Guallo Native Guide, lasgrutas de Gabriel Tourism Agency, Adress: Abdon Calderon and Juan Leon mera, Telephone: 06887894

• Cesar Cerda Touristic Administrator, Community Tourism Ricancie Agency, Telephone:062846262/0983064851