Amazon Research and Conservation Station

Sustainable Bolivia continues to make steps toward fulfulling our goal of building a premier biological research station in the Aquicuana Reserve.

Over the past months, we'vse received volunteer working on identifying birds, butterflies and insects.  We have been able to catalogue new species unknown to the area.  We have also worked to GPS map locations of important trees and medicinal plants.  While we still do not have a physical research station, we were able to host people in our volunteer accommodations in the reserve and then organize transport for biologist to work in our office in the nearbye town of Riberalta.

Alongside the local community, we've brought in electricity about half-way (5km) to the proposed site for the research station.  We have the wood-posts cut and a path cleared.  Over the next weeks, community members will be employed to plant the remaining posts and the state government will donate the required electrical cables to bring electricity to many families and also power our research station.  We've been researching staelite internet options which will be key for the station.

We've also developed new partnerships including the Kay Pacha Initiative.  This is a recently formed 501(c)3 non-profit that will team up with Sustainable Bolivia to raise help money and resources to continue the contruction of the station in May 2020.  Kay Pacha will also bring down a group of volunteers to help in the building process and will also assist with a reforestation project, helping locals plant trees in parts of the reserve that need to be rehabilitated.

In March we finished construction of a new cabin for our neighboring community, Warnes.  Much of the financial support came from a production company from California who filmed the process for an upcomming show. 

This cabin will serve as a communiuty kitchen and tourist information center for the reserve.  The cabin is 14 by 15 square meters with running water and electricity.  We furnished the cabin with a kitchen stove/oven, an outdoor bbq, desk/tables, cooking utinsels and two refrigerators.  We were able to obtain free publicity from a local TV station and the day after we opened, the community sold out all the food they prepared.

We haven't received much financial support for the research station so our energies have been focused on conducting research and supporting our community neighbors.  We've hosted a couple of biology volunteers whove conducted research on reptiles, bats and insects.  We're now building a website for the reserve where all of this information will be accessible to the public. 

We are grateful to all those whove supported and continue to support our work!