Globally, forests are being cleared for development at a horrifying rate. Seeing the destruction of his native land, Omar Tello was triggered to take on a mission of a lifetime. He bought a plot of land and restored an oasis of rainforest.
40 years ago, Omar Tello bought a patch of land stretching approximately 100 meters in each direction near Puyo city in Ecuador. The land had previously been cleared for development. He gave up his job as an accountant to work full-time on this land, creating a forest rehabilitation project.
“People thought I was mad, but I’ve watched this whole paradise disappear, to the point where seeing a wild animal alive and free is a luxury…so I said to myself, I have to do something to save these species,” Omar explains.
Across Ecuador deforestation has been increasing. In 2008, scientists warned that Ecuador had the highest deforestation rate in South America. The conclusion of their study was that the Ecuadorian government must promote incentives for sustainable forest management of plantations and natural forests. This should include ecologically and economically sustainable forest management and the reforestation of degraded land should be increased. By using satellite technology Global Forest Watch predicts that from 2001 to 2018, Ecuador lost 787 Kilohectares of tree cover.
Omar Tello’s project, Jardin Botanico Las Orquidias, focuses on planning, implementing and evaluating strategies, guidelines and actions, to consolidate a culture of respect for the natural environment, contributing to the defense and protection of the environment through scientific research for the amazonian flora and fauna.
Over these 40 years Omar has gleaned rare seeds and cuttings from the Amazon basin and repopulated these species within his forest. The wildlife has slowly been attracted into the area. Snakes, birds, insects, bees and even the endangered ‘glass frog’ (rana cristal), which was thought to be on the brink of extinction, have been spotted in his forest.
This rescue center of the amazonian flora and fauna, is now a benchmark for research on ecosystem restoration. Omar Tello has also become recognised as an expert in the field of long-term forest restoration. His work now is to collaborate with educational institutions, community centers and local farmers, to empower other landowners to do the same as him. This relies upon local and foreign allies that can create a sustainable infrastructure that benefits all.
The wife of Omar states that “[although people] come from far away to see and learn about the project, people around Puyo are not that interested. They don’t respect what Omar has done. No-one from the local government or authorities have shown any interest. The tourist office tells people that we aren’t open to visitors, when we are.”
One organisation that has teamed up with Omar is Humans For Abundance.
María José Iturralde, one of the cofounders and CEO of Humans For Abundance, believes that if you live in a city but take wood, oil, resources from the forests, it is the right thing to do for you to support the clean up, maintenance and sustainability of these environments. The mission of Humans For Abundance is to gain funding from global sources in order to pay a fair wage to local farmers and experts to convert their land into small pockets of rainforests to support diversity.
The social enterprise started with two pioneering families in 2019: Omar Tello’s family and José and Mayra’s family. Shortly after, three more families had agreed to join the project, plus a person who offers agroecology workshops. Now, 10 more families are in the process of joining the project.
The social enterprise focuses on permaculture and agroforestry, reforesting patches of land that had been cleared for agriculture, creating wetland habitats for wild animals like snakes and frogs, protecting 100+ year old trees that are very valuable after being logged, reproducing seedlings from endangered trees, and improving the soil quality by making compost and adding organic fertilizers.
Although these type of projects are arguably a pinprick to the scale of deforestation that is currently underway in the Amazon, humble movements such at these have the potential to create a template for tackling the issues from the root of the problem: creating an income and sustainable employment for locals and landowners, alongside international accountability and acceptance of responsibility for gleaning resources that are currently damaging these areas.
How to Get Involved
You can support the work of Humans For Abundance by choosing an ecoservice from their website. Here you can make one-off donations in three categories: conservation, restoration, and agroecology. There are also annual plans to do a smaller, regular donations.
Further Information
Jardin Botanico Las Orquidias is a private family run project set up by Omar Tello in 1980 in Puyo, Ecuador. It has become one of the most important attractions in the country for its scientific, environmental and cultural content. The project focuses on planning, executing and evaluating strategies, guidelines and actions that aim to achieve a culture of respect for the natural environment, contributing to the defense and protection of the environment, through scientific research of Amazon flora and fauna.
www.jardinbotanicolasorquideas.com
I: @jardinbotanicolasorquideas F: /jardin.botanico.orquideas
Humans For Abundance is a social enterprise that gains international funding to support local land owners in Ecuador to make a sustainable living from restoring their land into flourishing forests.
www.humansforabundance.com
I: @humansforabundance F: /humansforabundance
Main feature image is Omar Tello sat within his rainforest ‘Jardin Botanico Las Orquídeas’, Puyo, Ecuador ©Omar Tello
