"Without education there is no conservation"
Ecolodge with social impact and community tourism in Ecuador. Protecting the Amazon has been our unwavering purpose since 1992.
The Birth of Yachana
In 1991, after 6 years working as an environmental consultant for oil companies in the Amazon, Douglas McMeekin decided that it was not enough to observe, it was necessary to act. With a deep social conviction, he resigned and began the process of creating the Yachana Foundation.
Recognized as an Ashoka Fellow (2008) for his impact as a social entrepreneur, Douglas and his team have led for more than 30 years an integrated development model that merges technical education, community health, and the protection of virgin jungle.
Today, the Yachana ecosystem is recognized worldwide by National Geographic as a geotourism destination of excellence.
3 Decades of Real Impact
These are the great projects that shaped the legacy of the Yachana Foundation. The foundation of everything we build today.
1992: Community Schools
First major project of the foundation (along with UNICEF and the Ministry of Education), building schools and training teachers in 27 riverside communities.
1995: Yachana Lodge is Born
The Lodge is created as a pioneering Geotourism model to self-sustainably finance the social and educational projects of the Foundation.
1997: Mondaña Medical Clinic
The only health facility in the region at that time is founded, accessible only by canoe, serving more than 8,000 local inhabitants.
1998: Integrated Cocoa Project
A huge effort in infrastructure and technical assistance to plant and commercialize 3,400 hectares of cocoa, directly benefiting more than 2,500 farmers.
2005 - 2012: Yachana Technical College
Technical and 100% practical ("hands-on") education for Amazonian youth, providing them with tools to work and protect their environment without being forced to migrate to cities.
2019 - Present: Protection of 1,000 Hectares
Officialization of the conservation program to shield in perpetuity 1,000 hectares of primary and secondary jungle, creating the base of our current biological corridor.
Union of Nature
Our star conservation project operates through UON (Union of Nature), a global platform that allows protecting nature meter by meter (m²). The Yachana Reserve — primary and secondary forest that functions as an ecological corridor — can be protected in perpetuity by anyone in the world.
open_in_new View the project file on UON250,000 Tons
That is the massive amount of CO2 that our current 1,000 hectares offset. A true breath of fresh air and protective shield for the entire planet.
10,000,000 m² of Reserve
The Yachana Reserve has a total area of 10 million m² of protected forest. Anyone can sponsor one or more m², with exact GPS coordinates under their name.
Tangible Impact
Your sponsorship has a multiplying effect: it protects jungle in perpetuity and provides us with the funds to conserve even more threatened Amazon forest.
Sponsor a m²2
Follow these 3 steps from your cell phone.
Download the app UON.EARTH in your application store
Create your account and search for Yachana Foundation
Select Collect, choose the number of m² and complete your donation
3 Ways to Support Our Cause
Sponsor Jungle
Protect a m² of the Amazon through UON.EARTH. Your sponsorship secures the ecological corridor in perpetuity.
Sponsor nowCome to Know
Travel with purpose. 20% of your stay at our Lodge goes directly to finance the projects.
See Eco-Cabins