FEB 14 2006

Help protect the Cloud Forest of Ecuador - the most bio-diverse country on Earth.

Would you like to help communities and protect forests
in one of the 10 hot spots of biodiversity on the
planet?

Would you like to live, learn and help manage a
demonstration ecological lifestyle and permaculture
model nestled in the cloud forests of Ecuador?

'El Milagro' (the miracle) is a burgeoning project to
create and demonstrate a replicable ecological
lifestyle to local, national and international
visitors and regenerate a precious cloud forest
ecosystem. It is a 35 ha. cloud forest reserve
containing a mixture of primary, secondary and cleared
forest (about 1 ha) bordered by the Tuabunche river
(that flows out of the famous Cotacachi-Cayapas
ecological reserve).

The El Milagro project in Intag (Cotacachi, Ecuador)
aims to provide an ecological lifestyle model based on
permaculture design principles and experimenting with
easily replicable and inexpensive ecological
technologies from compost toilets, simple
hydro-electric systems, solar cookers and dryers and
biogas digesters. It is a place where you are invited
to teach and learn and practice sustainable systems
with local community groups.

We are now looking for a long term volunteer (one or
more years) who would be willing to help coordinate
the project and help guide short term volunteers and
visitors to the site. The right person would be
supported with a reduced living cost fee and help in
obtaining a long term volunteer visa for Ecuador.

All volunteers need to have a commitment to the
environment, to be reasonably fit and physical (not
scared of suspension bridges or steep cliffs), speak
some Spanish (Luis, the caretaker speaks only Spanish)
and be open-minded, inventive and self motivated. El
Milagro is a peaceful, secluded place (nearest
neighbours are about 1/2 walk away) where every
visitor finds their spirit lifted and filled with the
power and abundance of nature.

We now have two comfortable and secure living areas
(an octagonal house with large balcony and traditional
mud walls, and a recently completed house made of
locally sourced stone and timber). Clean water from a
small permanent stream is on tap, a gas cooker helps
with cooking and a solar panel provides nighttime
lighting. The many fruit trees and garden plots ensure
a good supply of healthy, organic food. It is a one
hour picturesque walk (made easier with help from our
horse Shanti!) from the road to El Milagro with 5
buses a day passing by on their way to the famous
market town of Otavalo (2 hours drive and $2 fare).

El Milagro is located at 1800 metres above sea level
meaning year round cool comfort with daily
temperatures ranging from 10 degrees at night to 20
degrees during the day. Living costs are around $150
per month plus food (in addition to what the garden
provides). A permanent local caretaker, Luis Hidalgo,
is employed to work with and assist volunteers.

Our approach in assisting the hundreds of volunteers
from around the world to help in a wide variety of
projects around Ecuador has always been to encourage
creativity, flexibility and freedom to apply specific
skill(s) and interests to the particular site.

At El Milagro we have had volunteers with skills in
building, architecture and design, nutrition,
naturopathy, education, permaculture design,
horticulture, biology, documentary production and many
other interests that have made wonderful
contributions. It would provide a good base for a
book/thesis writing project or a base for
journalists/campaigners investigating issues such as
community resistance to destructive development (Junin
copper mine) and the progressive initiatives of the
County of Cotacachi (and its indigenous Mayor - more
below).

Over the past 2 years we have organised seedbank
workshops at El Milagro for local and international
participants and have more planned for the future.
The permaculture design has been steadily evolving and
expanding and includes many fruit trees, vegetable and
cassava plots and around 300 coffee trees.

Our main organisational links are with the Australian
based Rainforest Information Centre
(www.rainforestinfo.org.au) and the Sloth Club
Japan(www.sloth.gr.jp), both of whom provide web links
and support the project in various ways.

Volunteering at El Milagro is a once in a lifetime
opportunity for an individual, couple or small family
to experience a new culture and make a positive
difference in the world. Living at El Milagro is a
step back (or forward) to a more simple, slow and
meaningful life - an experience that everyone should
have at least once in their lifetime!

For more information:
Anja Light, Rainforest Information Centre,
email pachalina@yahoo.com or phone 07 5534 4583.
Web page: rainforestinfo.org.au/projects/ecuador.html
or www.sloth.gr.jp

El Milagro Number 7 - July 2004

During the past few visits to El Milagro I have grown even closer to El Milagro as a vision growing into reality. I have also come to the decision to spend the next year or two (from the end of September) in Australia closer to my family. It is very hard to share this news and it is most important that you understand that it is not a feeling of abandoning El Milagro – actually, El Milagro is more beautiful and comfortable than ever! But it is what I feel is the best thing for me and my children right now. In a year or two Yani will be able to walk along the mountain paths by himself (saving my back) and I am sure life will be much easier! He has just had his 1st birthday (and now weighs 13 kgs) and while he can take quite a few steps, it will be some time before he can climb mountains. The challenge of growing up two very young children with no family or financial support here is too hard for me right now. I feel I will be able to be more productive for the Earth from Australia where I have a very good support network and all the opportunities to being more active in campaigns.

So, what we need right now is your help in coming to live at El Milagro or encouraging someone (or a small family) you know who would like to experience a Slow Life in the stunning Cloud forest of Ecuador for a year or more. It is a very important time in Intag, with the mining threat looming like never before and El Milagro may prove to be an important base for someone who can help share this story to the rest of the world. What we can now offer is a beautiful house with a solar panel and from October, a telephone line that will allow internet communications, along with productive soil and clean water and air and a friendly horse called Shanti!

Over the past two months El Milagro has been graced by the very special presence of Kino, who has committed himself to finishing the creation of the house before he continues his travels. He is really part of the local community now, spending time with Luis and his family and the village of Plaza Guiterrez. He has also shared his healing skills with other visiting volunteers and filled many evenings with the beautiful sound of his guitar playing. We even had a chance to jam together the beginnings of a new song, especially for Yani. Shuji has also been helping us at El Milagro (and feeding his blood to the midges!) and Rie has arrived from Japan and has been a wonderful help. She passed the ultimate El Milagro test by carrying Pacha across the suspension bridges and then taking Shanti back to the farm from Pucarra by herself – complete with river crossings. I am sure it is the first time in her life she has ever done these things!

In the past month at El Milagro a most special experience for me was the early morning visit of a falcon to a perch just outside our bedroom window. He looked in at us just waking up to the glory of the day – it felt like he was inviting us to be part of his family. Or maybe he was celebrating the first birthday of Yani...We also have some very friendly squirrels who have been enjoying sharing our corn plants.

Little by little the house is emerging as an organic, rather eccentric, strong, comfortable home - complete with circular windows filled with green glass bottles. The major achievement this month was bringing in the large amount of timber needed for the roof and floors. It was incredible to witness 5 men carry 40 large beams down impossibly steep slopes over 3 days (the timber was too long for the horses to manage), with each of the beams weighing about 50 kgs. Intag people are built of steel I have decided – something you wouldn’t imagine looking at the slight build of the men. My job was making enough food to match their physical output. It is a great satisfaction to make a lot of food (soup,rice, beans, fried bananas, pop corn, orange juice, etc) and seeing every little bit eaten. It was also a great feeling to try to make each meal a little different, even though most of the ingredients are the same. We made it to Friday on the last of our food supplies and the conclusion by the workers (Luis, Fidel, Mauro, Cesar and Kino) that the meals were very good and they would be back next week to continue working on the house – which is always a very good sign.

I have now completely let go of any time limit for finishing the house construction (which I originally thought would be done by the end of June) – it will be another of the ever evolving growing parts of El Milagro I imagine! Hopefully we will be able to celebrate the completion (more or less) by the middle of August. Actually, this week, after the first beams had been placed on top of the concrete wall – we all came to the conclusion that it would be a waste to only have one floor on the building. The views are gorgious and we realised we have enough timber to build another level along with a balcony that will extend the small space of the 4m by 6m building.

Who knows, by next week we may decide to put yet another level on this ever changing creation!

So, this is El Milagro number 7 and I sincerely you will help us write future El Milagro reports and sustain the vision of a Slow sustainable lifestyle!

El Milagro´ April 2003

Long Term Volunteer (6 months to 1 year) to manage this site urgently needed! (Living costs only $50 a month). Would also suit student or writer looking for a peaceful place for a sabbatical.

Nestled in the cloud-forested mountains of the region of Intag on the western slopes of the Ecuadorean Andes, is a burgeoning project to create and demonstrate a replicable ecological lifestyle to local, national and international visitors and regenerate a precious cloud forest ecosystem. With support from the Sloth Club in Japan (www.sloth.gr.jp), the Rainforest Information Centre in Australia (www.rainforest.org.au) and a growing number of volunteers and individual supporters, the Integrated Ecological Lifestyle Model project in Intag has been developing steadily over the past 2 years.

The region is world famous as a hotspot of biological diversity - one of the 10 most threatened on the planet - and is a vital area to protect. The El Milagro site is situated on a beautiful piece of land beside the river Tuabunche that flows out of the Cotacachi Cayapas Ecological Reserve. The region of Intag has also become famous as a place of fierce resistance to destructive industrial development processes, such as mining. Through the efforts of local grassroots activists and international networks there has been great progress in developing alternative, ecologically benign projects to help local people raise their income and standard of living while reducing destructive development activities and threats.

It is also an area of inspiring political progressiveness. The entire population of Cotacachi (of which Intag is part) is invited by the local government to have a strong voice in the policies which affect them. One result of this political process is the declaration of the entire area as an 'Ecological County'. The strict set of environmental ordinances which lay the foundations for a very green future in this ecological jewel.
Promoting ecological understanding and lifestyles is the probably the most urgent action to continue the progress so far. Most farmers and colonisers still subsist from extremely destructive practices - clearing and burning to grow marginal crops on extremely steep (erosion prone) slopes. Like other extremely threatened or already degraded areas of Ecuador, most people have no idea or information about sustainable land use practices.

Demonstrating Solutions.
The Integrated Ecological Lifestyle Model project in Intag hopes to provide an ecological example, based on permaculture design principles and experimenting with easily replicable and inexpensive ecological technologies from compost toilets, simple hydro-electric systems, solar cookers and dryers and biogas digesters. It is a place where international volunteers and visitors are invited to teach and learn and practice sustainable systems with local community groups. The vision is also of planting and maintaining permaculture gardens and collecting and distributing organic non-hybrid seeds to local people and reforesting degraded parts of the 35 ha of land that is part of the project so far. Volunteers can take part in this and have the opportunity to expand the project by investing in the purchase of neighbouring properties.

The Place
Two hours on a local bus from the market town of Otavalo (two hours from Quito), you reach the tiny village of Pucara (a prominent pre-Incan civilization site scattered with sacred mounds or 'Tolas'). From here you look out to the 350 ha cloud forest reserve of 'La Florida' and in this direction begin a 20 minute steep descent on foot. The Tuabunche river forms the lower boundary of the land and is one of its greatest features,
flowing fresh and pure water from the Cotocachi-Cayapas biological reserve. It is highly recommended that you contact or visit the Cotacachi Ecology Centre (info. On website) first and make arrangements to be met and guided by the caretaker (Luis Hidalgo) before visiting El Milagro.

Progress so far
As of December 2000, the land has around one hectare planted out with a range of plants and fruit trees. As well as fruit and vegies, about 500 coffee seedlings have been planted as part of the organic shade grown coffee project that has received so much support from friends in Japan. A local person, Luis Hidalgo, (and family, Mercedes, Clavers and Fernando) is employed to maintain the plants and the property itself. A water pipe system has been installed to provide a permanent water supply to the house and garden from the permanent small stream that runs through the property. A gas stove is available for cooking in the main house. An additional small dwelling is available for sleeping more visitors and volunteers. A greenhouse has been built to bring up native and fruit trees for reforestation efforts.

Building of a central house is now complete (though we could use some help from a carpenter to build some cupboards and additional furniture!) , with the sugar cane grass roof and mud walls. The construction of the 'round' house follows ecological guidelines of using as many local materials as possible (mud walls, stone floor in kitchen and grass roof). Cormac, from Ireland, came to Ecuador especially to help with this building project and has done a wonderful job! Other volunteers who have helped with this project include two friends from Japan - Taku and Kensuke who helped Luis with the gardens, and a New Zealand couple, Hans and Mikaela who have, along with Shine and Shannon, helped create a basic permaculture design. Recently (2003) the project has advanced dramatically through the help of Nancy Bradley who has also become an impromptu resident herbalist and naturopath for the surrounding community.

Future plans (within one year) include sourcing a solar panel to provide energy for laptop computer (and some lighting) and making a telephone connection to enable visitors and volunteers to access international communication on site. Ongoing activities include maintenance of the permaculture design gardens, carpentry, building a sauna by the river and planting more fruit and native trees.

Funding and the Future
The approach to funding with this project is to keep things small and simple and create systems that are not expensive and easily replicable. Volunteers, especially those who can teach appropriate technologies, are particularly sought after to share their knowledge and vision. The initial land purchase was helped by ecological friends from the Sloth Club in Japan. The deedholder and project manager of the Rainforest Information Centre, Anja Light, has been paying for the permanent local worker, house
construction and other infrastructure (from funds raised from forest CD sales in Japan).

The long-term vision includes the gradual expansion of the project site by encouraging visitors to buy neighbouring parcels of land for reforestation, while focussing on the central land area for self-sufficiency production. People living on neighbouring land usually hope to sell so they can move to the city. Others would like to stay in the area but are willing to take on different non-destructive farming practices. The neighbouring
virgin cloud forest of 'La Florida' is a seed bank of native species that should be allowed to reclaim its borders - it is with this ultimate vision that the Integrated Ecological Lifestyle Model in Intag, El Milagro, was born.
Living Costs and conditions for Volunteers.
Living Costs are $100 per month (does not include food).
Many vegies are available on site and additional food supplies can be sourced in the nearby village of Apuela. Living conditions are comfortable, simple and secure. Beds, linen, washing clothes area, solar shower, kitchen sink with water on tap, gas stove top, kitchen equipment are all available at the site, however there is no electricity as yet. The site is situated at an altitude ranging from 1500m to 1800m - which makes for a very comfortable climate (about 8 to 25 degrees celcius). Rainy season is from December to April but it usually only rains in the afternoons and at night. There are several different walking tracks to access the site from different directions, but there is no access by car.
Detailed information about visiting and living at the site and handy hints for staying there are available below.

If you would like to find out more, volunteer or visit this project, please contact:
cec@imbanet.net alight@ecuanex.net.ec or pachalina@yahoo.com (Anja Light)