This summer brings some exciting times for Quest in South America as the first ever team to venture to our newest project in the Manu Biosphere Reserve arrived in Peru last Wednesday. This pioneering bunch have arrived safely in the jungle and have spent the last couple of days exploring and getting to know their new rainforest home.
It’s not all been plain sailing for them though, with the long bus journey from Cusco down into Manu delayed by a couple of broken-down trucks blocking the road. However, even faced with a 12 hour epic Peruvian journey on their first day in the country the team were determined not to let their spirits drop, with Matt nominating himself as “Games Master” of the group (which had the girls worried for a while!).
Their first couple of days have been spent at the Manu Learning Centre, our project partner the CREES Foundation’s research centre on the banks of the Rio Madre de Dios. Here the team have been acclimatising to jungle life and learning more about the difficulties faced by the Manu environment. Today work starts in earnest on one of the team’s main projects, based in the small community of Salvacion. Here they will be working alongside community members, setting up biogardens – a sustainable farming method that protects the jungle environment from slash & burn agriculture whilst also ensuring high crop productivity for the community – and working on expanding the agro-forestry initiatives in the area.
The team won’t have much access to internet during the project, but do keep checking back here for their news.