In 2010, I took an internship in the cloud forest. La Hesperia basically is a farm which is run in an ecological manner and volunteers can participate (that’s how I got there). Back then, there was also a school which unfortunately meanwhile was shut down by the government. Where once learnt, played, and scrimmaged kids, today horses seek shadow from the tropical sun. 😦 Kind of sad…
The main reason for taking my family there was to show them around in a cloud forest. This is a very special ecosystem: it is characterized by the more or less permanent presence of fog. Water drops condensate which is the main water source there. Those forests have a dense understory and the trees are covered in mosses, bromeliads, lianas, and orchids – all of which give them a pristine and virgin look (see description here). 🙂 The trees are not as high as the ones in the rainforest. For me, this very forest type is the actual jungle!
When I worked there as a volunteer, we planted slow-growing hardwood seedlings first in order to convert the deteriorated secondary forest back into some kind of primary forest and second to ensure an income for future generations. In doing so, existing pristine forest can be conserved (or even reestablished) and selective logging minimizes the environmental damage. This way of managing the forest represents an integrated use of regrowing rescources. A total conservation of broad stretches of tropical forests without human activity is a misbelief – the people need to live from something. The example of La Hesperia might be a successful approach.
Ecuventure 