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With administrative offices in the city of Quito, the Yachana Foundation is actively pursuing its mission to 'achieve sustainability through education and conservation'. It is appropriate then that the foundation's name is the indigenous Kichwa word meaning 'a place for learning'. Working along with rainforest communities, the foundation aims to offer communities facilities for education and medical care, while developing sustainable agricultural practices and income generating alternatives that conserve Ecuador's precious rainforest.
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Located in the Ecuadorian provinces of Loja and Zamora Chinchipe, the Podocarpus National Park was created in 1982 as a protected area and is a haven to a host of mammals, birds and other creatures, as well as a wide variety of flora, including the national tree of Ecuador, the spectacular Cinchona. Of the forty mammal species found in the park, four are noted as being vulnerable or endangered – the Mountain Tapir, Spectacled Bear, Northern Pudu and the Jaguar.
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Referred to locally as "Quina’, the national tree of Ecuador has long been appreciated in many parts of the world for its life-saving medicinal properties. Cinchona pubescens is one of thirty-eight species in the genus Cinchona of the family Rubiaceae, indigenous to the tropical forests in the Andes mountains of western South America, including Ecuador. With shiny evergreen foliage and pink, white or red flowers, Cinchonas are either large shrubs or small trees that produce a small fruit with many seeds.
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Situated in Quito, the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana (House of Ecuadorian Culture) was founded by Benjamin Carrion (1897-1979) primarily for the preservation and promotion of the many aspects of Ecuador's vibrant culture, including music, dance, art, literature, theater and film. This goal continues today, with the center's theaters and lecture rooms as venues for a wide variety of events, lectures and workshops. In addition to visiting artists and performers, the House of Ecuadorian Culture has a permanent choir, theatrical group and a chamber ensemble, all of whom are dedicated to promoting Ecuadorian and Latin American culture both at their home base in Quito and at other venues.
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The picturesque town of Montañita has been chosen as the venue for the 2013 World Masters Surfing Championship from April 6 through to April 14. Promoted as an Olympic-style event, the championship is organized by the International Surfing Association (ISA) and has competitions in five disciplines – Men's Masters (35 and over); Men's Grand Masters (40 and over); Men's Kahunas (45 and over); Men's Grand Masters (50 and over); and Women's Masters (35 and over). Points will be tallied from results in all the disciplines with the Eduardo Arena Team Trophy going to the team with the highest score. The trophy is named in honor of the founder of the ISA, Eduardo Arena, who started the association in 1964.
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With wiry hair framing its tiny face, the pygmy marmoset of Ecuador is sometimes referred to as leoncity (little lion), or mono de bolsillo (pocket monkey), being a reference to its diminutive size. Thriving on a diet of tree gum, insects, arachnids and even small lizards, pygmy marmosets (Cebuella pygmaea) are found in the rainforests of eastern Ecuador, particularly near rivers, as well as in parts of Colombia, Peru and Bolivia.
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Born in Quito on May 23, 1972, Sebastián Cordero is an Ecuadorian writer, film director and editor mostly readily recognized for his debut film - Ratas, Ratones, Rateros - portraying a life of poverty in Ecuador. The film was nominated at the 2001 Spanish Goya Awards for Best Film of the Year and was screened at the Venice, Toronto, Buenos Aires, San Sebastián, Huelva and La Habana film festivals. Subsequent films directed by Cordero include Crónicas, Rabia and Pescador.
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Dolphins are generally associated with the sea, where they travel in large groups, frolicking in the surf. But there are, in fact, four species of dolphin that live in freshwater rivers and estuaries, of which arguably the most unusual in appearance is the Amazon River Dolphin (Inia geoffrensis) found in the Amazon, Orinoco, Araguaia and Tocantins river systems of Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Columbia, Venezuela and Ecuador. Due to overfishing, pollution, waterway traffic and habitat loss, this unique pink dolphin has been placed on the 'Endangered' list by the IUCN – International Union for Conservation of Nature.
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