Ökotourismus zwischen Sein und Schein - Lateinamerika-Studien ...

IX. Anhang (ausgewählte Interviewtranskripte)
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IX.1. Vollständig transkribierter Text des Interviews mit
Orlando Falco („Rumi Wilco Ecolodge“)
FRAGE 1 : „When was the „Rumi Wilco Ecolodge” founded and what was the
reason for it?”
The “Rumi Wilco Ecolodge” started as an idea that took shape gradually. We live here since
1991, in the beginning we only had control on half a hectare around our house. Later on we
were fortuned that we had some friends of mine who bought nearby neighbouring property
and they started accepting the idea of pooling the land together to constitute a reserve
private.
So we applied for private reserve status since three years ago. On the 14 th of July 2000 we
got approved by the ministry of environment as a “bosque y vegetacion protectores” with the
name “Rumi Wilco” that makes a illusion to the trees that are called “Wilcos” and “Rumi” a
Quechua word for “rock” so the idea that I tried to convene the meaning “wilcos on the rocks”
in the reserve which is very small but nearest the village of Vilcabamba and nearest and the
only one so far within the valley as a private reserve or public reserve official.
And the ecolodge came fortweetously (?) as a result of my neighbours home’s being
wakened and they were able to rent them to us with the condition of looking after the land,
one of the owners of the housing is also owner of one part of the reserve, so I took on the
administration with my wife of both the land and the housing that later, toward to the last two
years approximately, we’ve been converting into an ecolodge like this with the help of visitors
who were beginning to stay here and gradually helping of the improvement of the services.
FRAGE 2 : “The Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism as `responsible travel to
natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local
people.´ Would you join this definition? Or how would you define the concept
ecotourism ?"
Interesting it is that the idea of calling this place an ecolodge came as a result of a helpful
contribution of a friend who is now the director of CETUR (?) Rodrigo Tapia and he
suggested to be the name “ecolodge” and he handed me the books of the ecotourism
society, so my wife and I, both kind of looked into these books and read the ecotourism
society guidelines and books, and we realised that without being members of the ecotourism
society writing immediately because of the funding the costing of we are very basically living
in equilibrium, the money comes, the money goes, so far. But we judged to be qualified and
that we qualified to call this place an “ecolodge” according to the ecolodge standards and
guidelines that they provided.
For example: My wife and myself we are both university graduates in biology and zoology.
We are both ex-naturalist-guides: In my case since 1976 in the Galapagos. So we form a
husband and wife matrimony that lives within this protected area and has the know-how’s in
experience, in ambiguity (?), in care, we believe to look after the best of our possibilities of
this small area. And knowing that tourism here is taking the shape, on though it is not mature
yet into ecotourism, but it is aiming that direction. We intend into not only foster the place
here, but to try to serve as a model to an ecotouristic approach as we conceive it here.
Namely, providing assistance to the protection the river-banks, reforesting with the local
vegetation, native as we can detect them to be, paying the cost of the maintenance of these
private homes and lands to those people who have put them together willingly and promoting
the place as a scientific research place as well, a voluntary work place and a place for