Environmental and social facts

1. The lodge was built using steel and pre-assembled walls, and assembled as much as possible in Quito before being transported to the site in order to reduce the impact on the forest.

2. The lodge will be powered by hydro-electricity in the near future, making it self-sustaining with regards to power. The lodge employs many LED lights in order to reduce power consumption. It also uses yellow-coloured lights in order not to attract insects. Electrically-powered buggies transport guests within the reserve, reducing noise and emissions.

3. The project has financed the employment of a Resident Biologist since 2010. He and his team have carried out extensive research in the Reserve. This research contributed to the Reserve obtaining its Environmental Permit from the Ministry of the Environment as a private protected area of 1,300 hectares. The research has identified species of frogs not previously thought to inhabit this biome, and created an extensive bird, insect, mammal, and reptile list, for example. The project finances the Resident Biologist and a science station close to the lodge, which will have an international volunteer program running this summer.

4. The Mashpi project played a role in bolstering the initiative to establish a new reserve of 17,200 ha (42,000 acres), declared a natural protected area by the Munipality of Quito in May 2011. In effect, this far larger reserve engulfs and embraces the project's private one, ensuring its future viability and making the lodge's success all the more important for the surrounding area – as a source of employment but also as a source of knowledge transfer for local communities.

5. The hotel treats all its waste water biologically, uses composting for organic waste and recycles its solid waste.

6. The hotel is working with the local village of Mashpi for its supplies of organic produce grown there, within the context of existing production and without expanding the forest frontier. This reduces its transportation carbon footprint and provides income for this community.

7. The Mashpi project was one of the first companies in the country to participate in the "Cree Ecuador" project created by the Ecuadorian Ministry of Production. This entails the Ministry financing $1.5 million of the project cost, nearly 25% of the total investment in Mashpi. In exchange, the company will assist the Ministry in creating and providing support for an association of the local population and employees to acquire a minimum 10% of this sum between 2014 and 2016, in the form of shares in the company.

8. The lodge intends 80% of its staff to come from the local area after the initial start-up period.

9. The 2-kilometre-long aerial tram is being built with the utmost respect and care for the forest, with no access roads built for the erection of the towers. All the building materials for the towers have been transported to the sites by hand.

10. Guiding in Mashpi will be led by the best naturalist guides in the country, who will expertly-convey the forest's biodiversity and its importance to the world.