Hi All,
A few weeks ago I was in Rurrurenbaque and did a Pampa then a Jungle tour. I think I visited every single tour office in the town trying to find a company whose profits go directly to the indigenous community and who genuinely respect the environment. I speak Spanish fluently, so was able to grill each of the companies quite thoroughly about their ethics.
I finally came across Mashaquipe http://www.mashaquipe.com/English.htm , which is a company run cooperatively by 20 Tacana families. Their basic jungle tour takes place in a section of the Madidi National Park where many of the families used to live.
My jungle tour was fantastic. The guide was genuinely enthusiastic and incredibly knowledgeable having grown up on the same piece of land we visited. He also had an excellent knowledge of the medicinal plants in the area and showed a genuine respect for the environment.
Mashaquipe has a newly constructed camp, which the families built themselves, in traditional style. Its extremely clean and the food is excellent. I also appreciated the fact that the cook and the guide both sat down together to eat with us. The company has a limit of 4 people to one guide so the attention you receive is really excellent, as is the chance of actually coming across animals in the forest.
I did my pampa tour with one of the "mainstream" companies that has been around for several years. It was ok, but the guide seemed tired and a little sick of hulling around tourists. I also noticed that most of the companies seem to say that they do "Eco-Tourism" but very few really understand the philosophy behind it, and demonstrate a real respect for the environment. The cook and guides in my pampa tour ate apart from us,and although there was a limit of 8 tourists to one guide, there were several groups in the camp at once.
Mashaquipe is a little pricer than the other companies. Most charge $20.00 per day, they charge $25.00. However the quality of the tour and the knowledge that I was supporting indigenous families was worth it.
Enjoy your time in Rurre!
Mashaquipe Ethno-Eco Tourism
Its always a worry with people who join thorntree for the first time, like on August 09, 2007 8:00 PM and then their one and only post by 8:34 PM is one huge advertisement for some company. I'd be really suspicious of this mob.
Ouch, I guess thats why they call it thorn tree.
Take or leave the suggestion -- just thought I could help others avoid that hours of walking around Rurre it took me to find what I was looking for.
I'm not sure, I'd try sending them an e-mail at the address on their website -- see my first e-mail for the website address.
Good luck!
just wanted to put in my two cents!
i did a tour with mashaquipe in august of '06... i've never done a jungle tour before so i cant compare them to other companies, but i thought they were great! i did the wandering around rurre, and they had a sign something about a different kind of trek, whatever.. its been a while lol... my guide was reinaldo who is not doing treks right now because his mom is sick, but he was great. i signed up for 2 weeks (yes, crazy, i know), and so it was just me and reinaldo and the bugs... oh by the way i'm a 23 year old female. so obviously my mom was freaking out (me, jungle, alone with guide...) but i had an AMAZING time, i think the worst thing that happened was when we were floating down the river and it started pouring and we were basically SOL... haha.. I learned SO much about the jungle, the plants, their uses, we built a raft... i was sick when i got to rurre (vomiting and diarrhea) and the day i was supposed to leave i could hardly walk but they made me a jungle brew from the bark of a tree and i was fine the next day.. :)
i think all the companies in rurre use local guides who have grown up in the jungle, i would assume... you probably should double check with whatever company you choose. i was amazed how he knew where we were going. most of the time the trail was barely visible while you were ON it, and once i ventured about 30 seconds off it and couldn't find it again...
also i'm vegan and they really tried to work with me to figure out a)what i could eat and b)how to get all those veggies through the jungle
and i didn't have boots or a mosuito net or a sleeping bag, and they lent me all those things!! needless to say, i made friends, this wasn't just a business deal, and i still talk to them today.
anyway, i can't recommend this company enough, they are such great, humble people and will really work with you to make a trek that fits your needs/ideas
if you have uestions you can PM me
in peace
-michelle
Just did a Pampas tour with the company and it was a good trip. Guides Billy and Valdemar were very personable and knowledgeable. Their English needs some improvement, but once they realized most of the group spoke decent Spanish they switched over and we translated for the couple who did not speak Spanish. Food was great. Only downside is they do not have their own lodge in the Pampas, they use the rentable Dolphin camps. They seemed eco-friendly enough as well. Would definitely recommend them.
trusted partner
