Welcome

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Welcome to the Payamino Project website! The Payamino Project is a conservation and development project in and around the area of the Kichwa community San José de Payamino.

The community and their lands are located in the Sumaco area along the Payamino River in the Ecuadorian lowland jungle (200 to 400 m.a.s.l.). The area is named after the spectacular volcano Sumaco, which rises to 3828 meters in the middle of the green Amazon.

In 2002, in an attempt to save their forest and culture from increasing pressure from oil, logging and mining companies, the villagers of San Jose de Payamino signed a ten year agreement with Aalborg Zoo to help protect their 60.000 hectares rainforest and create a sustainable development path in the region.

The agreement supports the community with funding for education, healthcare services and sustainable development projects as well as wildlife research and ecotourism in this pristine and unexplored wild pocket of the Amazon.