The Chalalán Ecolodge, nestled in the heart of Madidi National Park in the Bolivian Amazon, is a joint ecotourism initiative of the community of San José de Uchupiamonas and CI. In 1995, a visionary group of San José villagers realized they needed an economic alternative to harvesting coffee, rice, and peanuts. The great distance to the closest marketplace made it hard to compete, and the younger generation needed alternative livelihoods to keep them from migrating to other locations. Additionally, the community needed an economic alternative to destructive uses of the forest, including hunting and logging. Therefore, they sought new economic opportunities through nature tourism. Their hope was to make tourism an alternative to logging, which has been increasingly perceived as short-term, poorly paid, and destructive of the very forests that have provided the indigenous people with vital resources for more than three centuries.

LEARN MORE: Chalalán Ecotourism Lodge.

Community leaders sought out CI’s assistance in pursuing ecotourism. CI was receptive to the idea of using ecotourism as a tool to link biodiversity conservation with community development. CI’s goal at the outset of the project was to create a profitable ecotourism lodge that would be wholly owned and operated by the community. To accomplish this, CI guided the community through the design and development of the ecolodge together with regional private-sector partners.

CI trained villagers in the necessary skills to run a tourism business: building, guiding tours, preparing food, housecleaning, making handicrafts, and marketing and managing the lodge. CI also helped the new management team establish relationships with tour operators in La Paz to assist with business promotion. 

DOCUMENTARY: Chalalán, the Story of a Dream.

After successfully preparing community members to manage Chalalán Ecolodge, CI transferred ownership to them in April 2001. Chalalán Ecolodge is now a stock company owned in part by the community, and is serving as a model for ecotourism projects in other parts of Bolivia. It receives about 1,000 tourists a year, and more than 70 families receive economic benefits from profits and employment. Depending on the season, up to 24 employees work as full-time cooks, guides, cleaners, and administrators. Virtually all of San José de Uchupiamonas’ 600 residents benefit directly from the ecolodge: 50 percent of its profits are reinvested into the community in the areas of health care, basic infrastructure, and education. The remaining 50 percent of profits are divided among families as a dividend on their shares.

In 2008, the Chalalán Ecolodge was named an Equator Initiative Prize winner and will be recognized in October at a ceremony at the World Conservation Congress in Barcelona.

LEARN: Read more stories of community partnerships and successes.