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With school back in session and two full-time gardeners, a lot is happening at the IE-funded Las Malvinas urban garden project in Iquitos, Peru! During a typical week, over 300 students regularly come and go for classes in the gazebo and hands-on work in the garden. Our in-country partner sent this update.
The vegetable area is starting another season, and the beds have been replanted with a variety of vegetables — cucumbers, sweet peppers, cilantro. We also have some experimental plots dedicated to growing horseradish with different amounts of natural fertilizer (chicken droppings), plus peppers planted using two different methods of ground cover which protect the surrounding soil from serious rainwater leaching. Implementation and evaluation of these experiments are being made by the students. Our papaya trees, only just recently planted, are quickly bearing fruit and our passion fruit plants are thriving.
The medicinal area of the garden is smaller by comparison but is showing strong growth as we’ve planted the most commonly used medicinal plants in the area — achiote, hierba luisa, hausai and rosa sisa.
The ornamental flower area is starting to get more attention. This is a great asset to the garden as it brings together many examples of rainforest flowers all in one place for students and guests to enjoy. Rarely does one see a broad range of rainforest flowers together in the wild. We’ve been nurturing a number of new marigold plants and we’re buying seeds to plant more. Marigolds are a great deterrent for ants which continue to be a challenge to control in the garden since we’re using only natural methods. We recently made the purchase of almost 100 bougainvillea flowering plants to run along our fence line.
About Las Malvinas: Housed at a public school, the Las Malvinas urban garden project is the centerpiece of an IE-funded environmental education program. Teachers use this outdoor classroom to teach environmental awareness, biology and language arts to the school’s 1,000 students. The Garden is home to a vegetable garden, medicinal plant garden and two ponds.
Learn more about the Las Malvinas Garden and how you can support the project at Traveler’s Philanthropy.
For former International Expeditions guest Dr. Linnea Smith, her time on an Amazon rainforest tour was truly a life-changing journey that is now having a positive impact on the people of the rainforest. This Wisconsin-based doctor gave up her practice to open a medical clinic in 1990 serving the Yagua and Ribereno people of the Upper Amazon Basin.
Until Linnea arrived, the local people had no access to health care. Now 2,000-2,500 patients arrive each year — most by dug-out canoe or on foot — seeking treatment for malaria, infectious diseases, dental care, and even prenatal care and birthing.
Guests on three special Amazon River cruise departures this May and July will have an opportunity to visit Linnea’s medical clinic as well as four other IE-funded conservation and community projects in the Peruvian Amazon.
International Expeditions’ newest mini water treatment plant has just been completed in the village of San Jose de Paranapura. About 60 families live in this village on the Rio Ucayali. A four-stage filtration system produces up to 2,200 liters of clean water each day. For these families, our water treatment plant means parasite-free water to drink, brush their teeth and cook with every day! Boiling is the only other way to get clean water, requiring harvesting of trees to build and sustain a fire.
Our water treatment plants are also helping to foster a more sustainable economy. Excess clean water can be sold to neighboring villages or used to bake bread and make jam. This minimizes the need to make money by logging in the rainforest.
This is the third water treatment plant IE has funded in the Peruvian Amazon. The other two are located in Irlanda and Santa Teresa. Through our partnership with Travelers’ Philanthropy, IE guests can join with us in funding the construction of other water treatment plants in the Amazon.
Bill Robison, International Expeditions’ Director of Product Development, spent the first part of 2009 in Laos and Vietnam researching locations for our new 15-day itinerary. Follow Bill’s series of updates on these fascinating countries, as well as how he’s put together a Laos and Vietnam tour that covers the spectacular natural beauty and culture of Southeast Asia.
It was time for my first lunch at Kingfisher Lodge, so I headed over to the main building to find two floors, each with tables for meals, with a completely open view of a pond and the wetlands of Xe Pian NPA. The entire lodge had a remarkable sense of taste; well thought out and very tastefully decorated with local flare — not what you might expect from an ecolodge. I sat down to a view of cattle in the fields, the villagers of Khiet Ngong picking herbs from the ground, and was treated to a view of some elephants from the village as they grazed their way through the fields and filled the air with the sound of their clanging neck bells.
Once I had my first look at the menu — which “pad” meal to eat today — I noticed they had Italian food on the menu as well! How could this be true in the middle of a wilderness in one of the wildest countries in the world? Where were the inconveniences I was expecting? I came to find out that the owner/operator of the lodge Massimo is Italian. He opened the lodge after marrying a Lao woman, and has added his favorites on the menu.
Massimo and I had a great chat about the lodge, the challenges he faces with the local government and the proper management of Xe Pian NPA, as well as how his lodge benefits the locals at Khiet Ngong. They have a partnership where everyone shares in the revenue from the lodge, and the locals accompany guests on walks through the forest and on elephant rides to the remains of the temple at Pho Asa. Not only do these excursions benefit the lodge, the workers and the villagers, they also benefit the elephants who would otherwise be put to work logging in the forest.
For three days I visited the forest, Pho Asa, the village of Khiet Ngong and relaxed on the verandah of my bungalow. All this nature, culture and Italian food, too! There was no doubt in my mind that guests of International Expeditions would thoroughly their Laos tour, and would also love that their stay would benefit so many of the locals…elephants included!
By Expedition Leader Jorge Salas
During our Amazon Voyage, we explore the Pacaya River, in the Pacaya-Samiria Reserve, the heart of the Amazon. International Expeditions supports a Yellow Spotted River Turtle project in the reserve. This project protects the eggs of these endangered turtles until they are hatched, then reintroduces the turtles in the Pacaya-Samiria.
If you are lucky to arrive during hatching season, you will have the opportunity to release some hatchlings. Here, our good friend Jackie Reasoner of Alabama enjoys this magical moment. Thanks to Jackie and all our fantastic guests for such great memories!
IE’s three decades of conservation work in the Amazon has been featured on National Geographic Traveler’s Intelligent Travel blog.
“The efforts by IE and its travelers take the term ‘voluntourism’ to a new level, demonstrating just what it means to see the world and save it, too. Led by local naturalists and historians, their goal is to cultivate a greater appreciation and understanding of the earth’s natural wonders as well as the welfare of the local people and communities within them.”
Read the complete interview with International Expeditions President Maggie Hart and the full article on our conservation efforts in the Peruvian Amazon and beyond.
While drinking dirty river water might be better than having no water at all, International Expeditions believes that every person should have pure water, and the health and conservation benefits are enormous!
The simple water treatment plants IE has built in Santa Teresa and Irlanda, Peru (and the many more we have planned for future construction) provide 2,200 liters of clean drinking water each day. In these two villages of 380 people, including more than 125 school-age children, that means parasite-free water to drink, brush their teeth and cook with every day! Boiling is the only other way to get clean water, requiring harvesting of trees to build and sustain a fire.
Our water treatment plants are also helping to foster a more sustainable economy. Excess clean water can be sold to neighboring villages or used to bake bread and make jam. This minimizes the need to make money by logging in the rainforest.
Learn more about International Expeditions’ world-wide conservation efforts at www.IEtravel.com/conservation.
The Amazon is an integration of rivers and jungles combined to form the largest wilderness area in the world — the Amazon Basin. Occupying over 2.5 million square miles and including major portions of nine South American countries, this area contains an enormous diversity and abundance of fauna and flora. Despite the hundreds of scientists who have explored the Amazon and the masses of data that have been compiled, most of its huge area is only vaguely known with thousands of new species waiting to be discovered. During our Amazon cruise, we help curious travelers discover as many of these hidden secrets as possible.
While most travelers know about the rainforests’ larger residents – macaws, river dolphins and monkeys – here are a few of the Amazon’s tiniest treasures. And, all of these photos were taken on a recent voyage by Expedition Leader Jorge Salas!
Ithomiinae butterfly – These small butterflies are common in the New World tropical forests. Due to the toxins ingested by their caterpillars they are not considered choice food items by predators.
Leptodactylid Frog – Found primarily in Central and South America, this family of frogs may contain over 1,000 species. Many species construct foam nests to house the eggs and tadpoles until they hatch and metamorphose.
Short-Horned Grasshopper – Grasshoppers are abundant from the canopy to the forest floor. Many species are very colorful, others are so well camouflaged they’re almost impossible to see until they move.
Monarch Butterfly Caterpillar – The caterpillar of the Monarch is able to eat the leaves of toxic milkweed plants. These toxins are passed on to the adult form during metamorphosis, making the adults an unpopular food choice to predators.
Tropical Dragonfly – Dragonflies are wide-spread and commonly observed insects. Both the aquatic larval form and the adult are voracious consumers of other insects.
Poison Dart Frog (with young) – This species lays its eggs in the water trapped in the base of epiphytic bromeliads. If the water or food supply in the bromeliad gets too low the tadpole may attach to the adult, who then takes it to a new plant.
Mata Mata Turtle – Chelus fimbriatus – This odd-looking turtle, known from the drainage of the Amazon and Orinoco Rivers, preys on fish and large aquatic invertebrates. Adults may weigh over 30 pounds. The skin flaps and head shape break up its outline making it difficult for prey animals to recognize it before they get too close to escape.
Leaf Toad – There are numerous species of these small toads called leaf toads. They share, in common, the superficial resemblance to a dead leaf on the ground. This camouflage helps them escape the notice of hunting predators. They, in turn, consume small invertebrates they find on the forest floor.
All too often we talk ourselves out of special escapes – like travel. But no matter the reasons we give for forging vacations, there are so many benefits to travel with a purpose – the kind of journeys you’ll find in abundance at International Expeditions!
While a relaxing getaway is certainly a welcome respite for many of us, travel also has the potential to enrich our mind and the world. When you join an IE journey, you’ll be educated on the customs, wildlife and history of a region. More than that, you learn how we impact the places we travel to, increasing awareness of how delicate and interdependent our world is.
More than just expanding your understanding of our global community, travel has the ability to impact lives at a very personal level. At International Expeditions, tourism dollars fund our efforts to conserve Bengal tigers and hyacinth macaws, as well as build water treatment plants in remote rainforest villages, improving the lives and health of isolated communities. While traveling, you may buy hand-made wares in a small village, enabling them to sustain their way of life and pass down skills to their young. Your very presence on our expeditions provides work and income for passionate naturalists like those who lead our trips. This engaging travel is an astounding chance to give back to the world while benefiting immeasurable ourselves.
I’m so excited to have to opportunity to head-up a company with such a far-reaching impact! And I’m thrilled that you’ve joined our community of travelers so that I can share with you all the progress we’re making in the coming months.
Regards,
Maggie Hart
President
