Why Ecuador's New Mashpi Lodge Is Better than the Rest

Aug 10, 12 | 12:00 am

By Nicholas Gill

In a highly biodiverse Andean rain and cloud forest in northwest Ecuador, the recently opened Mashpi Lodge is outdoing every old-guard enviro-conscious hotel. Here’s how:

Location

Old Eco: Build the lodge on the border of a national reserve, to take advantage of its abundant wildlife.

New Eco: Become the reserve. Mashpi created a 42,000-acre protected area and employs an on-site biologist who spent two years there before the hotel was even built.

End Result: Mashpi’s resident scientists are studying one of the last tracts of this kind of forest; they’ve already discovered new birds, mammals, plants, insects, and frogs.

Energy

Old Eco: Unpredictable solar panels and loud diesel generators provide electricity and (lukewarm) water.

New Eco: Mashpi built its own hydroelectric plant. Hydroelectricity is waste-free and silent, and Mashpi’s little plant uses a stream, so there’s no need for a landscape-changing dam.

End Result: Hydroelectricity is expensive, but it has less of an impact on natural resources than a generator’s gasoline would—and produces no nature-endangering emissions.

Food

Old Eco: Organic produce is hauled from the nearest capital or transported many hours down a river.

New Eco: Hyperlocavorism: Cooks forage for fruits and berries, grow herbs, make chocolate from cacao trees, and harvest biodynamic foods such as guava, uvilla, and plantains.

End Result: Less food is brought in from Quito, so fuel is saved. Plus, Ecuador’s famed Arriba Nacional cacao bean is preserved, and fresh herbs and fruits are always on hand.

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