San Miguel del Bala
Encyclopedia
San Miguel del Bala is a little village in Bolivia
.San Miguel del Bala is an indigenous
community in the Bolivian Amazon rainforest
on the
banks of the Beni River
, near Rurrenabaque
. Its nearest neighbour is the Madidi
National Park, world famous as one of the places on earth with the widest biodiversity.San Miguel del Bala is south of Rurrenabaque on the west bank of the Beni River
. San Miguel is in the La Paz Department of Bolivia, while Rurrenabaque is in the Beni Department
.
San Miguel del Bala is only reached by boat 40 minutes up stream from Rurrenabaque.
The community of San Miguel has 235 inhabitants. They have built the San Miguel del Bala Eco-Lodge with the help of NGO's: CARE (CARE (relief)
), Conservation International
, UNDP, and Wildlife Conservation Society
. The Eco-Lodge has a restaurant and 7 comfortable cabins each with 3 beds and private bathroom.
"Bala" means "bullet" or "cannon ball". The landmark is the ’shot hole’ in the nearby Mountain range that is visible from the lodge.
San Miguel is a small community of 32 families. They are Tacana Indians who have historically lived along the shores of the Beni and Tuichi rivers and within the boundaries of the famous Madidi National Park. They live in harmony with their environment and from various small commercial ventures such as handicrafts, fishing and agriculture. Now they also live from visits to their eco-tourism lodge that they have built and run themselves with the financial and technical help of local authorities and several NGOs and the United Nations Development Fund.
The inhabitants of San Miguel del Bala use the income from the community-based project to better their lives - education, health, and such - and to preserve the incredibly rich biodiversity in and around the Madidi National Park. When Madidi was created it was their biggest enemy, but tourism’s many advantages to the community have completely changed their opinion. Instead of hating the national park they are now among its fiercest protectors and are proud to be nominated as honorary park rangers by the national park itself. Their way of living and the way they manage their lodge is completely sustainable and will allow their children and grandchildren to live maybe even better than they are living.
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
.San Miguel del Bala is an indigenous
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
community in the Bolivian Amazon rainforest
Amazon Rainforest
The Amazon Rainforest , also known in English as Amazonia or the Amazon Jungle, is a moist broadleaf forest that covers most of the Amazon Basin of South America...
on the
banks of the Beni River
Beni River
The Beni River is a river in the north of Bolivia.It rises north of La Paz and flows northeast through the pampas. One of the tributary rivers is Tuichi River in the Madidi National Park. Tuichi River joins the Beni River upstream from the town Rurrenabaque. South of Rurrenabaque, Río Beni runs...
, near Rurrenabaque
Rurrenabaque
Rurrenabaque is a small town in the North of Bolivia on the Beni River. It is the capital of Rurrenabaque Municipality. In recent years it has become popular with international tourism as it is an easy gateway for visits to Madidi National Park , as well as the surrounding pampas...
. Its nearest neighbour is the Madidi
Madidi
Madidi is a national park in the upper Amazon river basin in Bolivia. Established in 1995, it has an area of 18,958 square kilometres, and along with nearby protected areas Manuripi-Heath, Apolobamba, and the Manu Biosphere Reserve...
National Park, world famous as one of the places on earth with the widest biodiversity.San Miguel del Bala is south of Rurrenabaque on the west bank of the Beni River
Beni River
The Beni River is a river in the north of Bolivia.It rises north of La Paz and flows northeast through the pampas. One of the tributary rivers is Tuichi River in the Madidi National Park. Tuichi River joins the Beni River upstream from the town Rurrenabaque. South of Rurrenabaque, Río Beni runs...
. San Miguel is in the La Paz Department of Bolivia, while Rurrenabaque is in the Beni Department
Beni Department
Beni, sometimes El Beni, is a northeastern department of Bolivia, in the lowlands region of the country. It is the second largest department in the country , covering 213,564 square kilometers , and it was created by supreme decree on November 18, 1842 during the administration of General José...
.
San Miguel del Bala is only reached by boat 40 minutes up stream from Rurrenabaque.
The community of San Miguel has 235 inhabitants. They have built the San Miguel del Bala Eco-Lodge with the help of NGO's: CARE (CARE (relief)
CARE (relief)
CARE is a broad-spectrum secular relief, humanitarian, and development non-governmental organization fighting global poverty. It is non-political, non-sectarian and operates annually in more than 70 countries across the globe.One of the organization’s primary focuses in its fight to eradicate...
), Conservation International
Conservation International
Conservation International is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, which seeks to ensure the health of humanity by protecting Earth's ecosystems and biodiversity. CI’s work focuses on six key initiatives that affect human well-being: climate, food security, freshwater...
, UNDP, and Wildlife Conservation Society
Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society based at the Bronx Zoo was founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society and currently manages some of wild places around the world, with over 500 field conservation projects in 60 countries, and 200 scientists on staff...
. The Eco-Lodge has a restaurant and 7 comfortable cabins each with 3 beds and private bathroom.
"Bala" means "bullet" or "cannon ball". The landmark is the ’shot hole’ in the nearby Mountain range that is visible from the lodge.
San Miguel is a small community of 32 families. They are Tacana Indians who have historically lived along the shores of the Beni and Tuichi rivers and within the boundaries of the famous Madidi National Park. They live in harmony with their environment and from various small commercial ventures such as handicrafts, fishing and agriculture. Now they also live from visits to their eco-tourism lodge that they have built and run themselves with the financial and technical help of local authorities and several NGOs and the United Nations Development Fund.
The inhabitants of San Miguel del Bala use the income from the community-based project to better their lives - education, health, and such - and to preserve the incredibly rich biodiversity in and around the Madidi National Park. When Madidi was created it was their biggest enemy, but tourism’s many advantages to the community have completely changed their opinion. Instead of hating the national park they are now among its fiercest protectors and are proud to be nominated as honorary park rangers by the national park itself. Their way of living and the way they manage their lodge is completely sustainable and will allow their children and grandchildren to live maybe even better than they are living.