Nature Reserve & Biological Station
Our Biological Station.
Facilities
Up to 26 students, volunteers or visitors can be lodged at the station house. On the upper floor of the main building, there are four double rooms with bunk beds. Next to the main building there is a new dorm building with six more rooms: five double rooms with bunk beds and one big dorm room that sleeps eight people. Four of our rooms have bunk beds with a lower double-sized mattress, so we can also host couples.
On the lower floor of the main building you'll find the kitchen, dining area, a common area with hammocks (also used as class room) and a small laboratory. There are two warm-water showers right next to the main house. Our eco-friendly composting toilets are outside: only 10 meters away from the main house we have three outhouses.
On the balconies, you can enjoy the view of the forest canopy. At the back of the new dorm building there is a deck overlooking the forest and a fruit feeder.
There is WiFi at the station house!
Sustainable living at the station house
Food
The food at the biological station is mostly vegetarian and is prepared by our wonderful cooks Wilo, Christian or Leo. They cook typical Ecuadorian food (rice, plantains, legumes, yucca etc,) as well as pasta, potatoes and lots of vegetables.
Every now and then we have one of our own chickens or tilapias (fish) but in general we eat little meat and dairy products. We only have limited space in our propane-run fridge and a lower consumption of animal products also reduces our carbon footprint!
Electricity
The station house is off-the-grid and the electricity at the station house is provided by solar. Given that there is enough sun, electronic devices can be used and charged during the day. Usually the solar energy lasts until the evening. For the rest of the night we use candles and flashlights.
The electricity system in Ecuador is similar to the US. The system voltage is 110 V. You should bring a plug adapter for the American system (US, Central- and South America). Please bring rechargable batteries!
Water
The water supply for the biological station comes from a water source in the forest. We collect water in tanks and then it needs to be pumped up to the station house. During the rainy season we also collect rain water. We have different filter systems and our water is safe to drink.
In order to keep the water consumption low, we are using composting (dry) toilets at the station.
We only have a very basic sewage treatment plant and, therefore, ask our guests to bring biodegradable shampoos and soaps!
