Yachana Foundation

At the Yachana Foundation we are dedicated to finding sustainable solutions in the struggle between the ideals of rainforest preservation and the realities of life in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

Yachana’s mission is to provide community-based solutions to poverty and environmental conservation in the rainforest. Training programs create opportunities of employment, health and entrepreneurism with a focus on social, economic and environmental sustainability. Through socially conscious tourism we are simultaneously aiming to conserve the rainforest while helping it's people.

The Yachana Foundation is dedicated to engaging communities in improving local livelihoods in the Amazon region of Ecuador. Yachana has spent 23 years implementing tangible improvements in local communities: education, training, community development, health, micro-enterprise and micro-finance while exposing needs to the world through its tourism programs. Education and hands-on training programs provide locals with the skills to improve their lives and protect their rainforest.

The Yachana Training Center opened in 2014. Prior to 2014 youth of the area had the opportunity to attend Yachana Technical High School [2005 - 2013] serving high school age indigenous and mestizo students living in remote communities in Ecuador's Amazon region. Yachana has successfully provided educational and vocational training as fulfillment of its mission for almost 10 years. Applying Yachana’s philosophy of practical, hands-on instruction has proven to be an extremely effective way to educate the youth from the Amazon. Yachana promotes the students to feel proud of their cultures, language and encourages them to share.

Programs from Yachana schools are about promoting conservation of the Amazon's biodiversity through teaching sustainable use of natural resources, providing professional skills to improve employability, and mentoring management of student-run ecological enterprises. Subjects include eco-tourism, sustainable agriculture, computers, nutrition, forest and wildlife management and environmentally sustainable micro-enterprises.