A Brief History of Paititi Volunteer Program

Paititi began in 1995 as an idea conceived by TRILLO S.A and Aguas Calientes Comunity to protect the Cloud Forest of Asunción de Los Andes, on the road to Naranjal, Molletouro, Cuenca. During Abdala Bucaram's presidential period, Jaime Galarsa, then minister of Wild Life and Fisheries, joined the project with the idea to develop new alternatives to ecotourism. After the government coup, the Paititi Project was abandoned for a whole year. During this time OCQ, a conservationist organization, worked on historic routes and community awareness. During Fabian Alarcon's goverment, Project Paititi found a new ally in Jaime Roca, Tourism Secretary as well as the Tourism Minister, Jauna Vallejo. After this the project rested for another year, to begin anew in June 1999 with students from Kansas University and Louisiana State University, with help from Hacienda Secadal and Grupo Quirola.In 1997 TRILLO S.A. contracted Hirán Sotela, founder of the Costarican Tourism Institute and is a Gold Helm of Tourism holder, for the evaluation of the Molletouro-Cuenca road on the way to the Area Nacional de Recreación El Cajas.