PUCARÁ: A CLOUD FOREST COMMUNITY

Pucará is a small agricultural village of 300 people at 2081 meters in the Intag River Valley, in Cotacachi County, Imbabura. The valley is located on the western slope of the Andes between Cotocachi and Los Bancos, and is swathed in cloud forest and small farms. The Alto Chocó cloud forest of the valley is one of the world's ten most bio-diverse ecosystems, and is deemed a Biodiversity "hot spot" by UNESCO.

The valley was a pre-conquest trading route and sparsely inhabited until a seasonal road was constructed in the 1960s. The opening of the valley to vehicles brought colonists desperate for land and the area quickly grew a reputation for its excellent soil and hot climate: perfect conditions for a wide variety of market crops. Because the valley traditionally connected the coast and sierra, colonists from both regions arrived, forming a fascinating mix of Afro-Latino, Otavalo, and Kayambi cultures, traditions, languages, and agricultural techniques.

Today, the Intag valley has gained a reputation for its staunch resistance to mining interests and an investment in sustainable development and eco-tourism.

Since the 1990s the Intag Valley has been threatened by Ascendant Copper Corporation's plans to develop huge, open-pit copper mines in the middle of the Alto Chocó cloud forest, one of the most bio-diverse places on the planet. The only thing that has stopped this from happening has been the incredible, grass- roots anti-mining movement of poor campesinos. For updated info on the struggle click here: www.decoin.org

The mayor of Cotacachi County, Auki Tituaña, passed an ordinance declaring Cotacachi a Cantón Ecologico. This means it is against municipal law for any business to engage in activities that harm the environment, and explicitly states that citizens´ right to a healthy environment and drinking water supercedes corporate rights.

Realizing that catalyzing sustainable economic development is a crucial part of the anti-mining strategy (Ascendant promises jobs, infrastructure, etc.), the region has seen a renaissance of eco-tourism, organic agriculture, and micro-business projects. Seeing the importance of sustainable development, the community of Pucará has the vision of making its new neighborhood a model for poor, rural communities seeking better living styles and alternatives.

As a result, in 2006 the community decided to implement an "eco-pueblo" model for the new neighborhood under construction. Viewing the construction of 10 houses as an opportunity to develop a new model for rural, low-income housing, the people of Pucará are investigating ways to implement sustainable energy technology, ecological design, and perma-culture concepts into the long-term planning of the new neighborhood. Plans include:

» Rain-water catchments' systems
» Solar water heating
» Community organic gardens
» Community medicinal gardens
» Native species reforestation and water' source management
» Ongoing recycling program and waste management strategy
» Gray-water catchments that will feed in to a series of Tilapia fish ponds to provide a food and    economic resource
» The slurry waste from a bio-filtered sewer system will be run through a leach field of planted    bamboo.The bamboo will be used for construction and sold by the community.
» Agroecology project revolving around organic coffee and food producing shade trees.

VOLUNTEERS CAPABLE OF ASSISTING WITH ANY OF THESE PROJECTS ARE WELCOME!
Refer to Volunteers Programs page for more information.