The Xixuaú Amazon Ecolodge. Ecotourism to protect the Amazon Forest.

The Xixuaú Amazon Ecolodge is owned by CoopXixuaú, the Agro-Extractive Cooperative of Xixuaú. It was founded in 2009 with the aim of ensuring a sustainable life for its members, who are all natives, through the preservation and protection of the forest.

The CoopXixuaú manages the community ecotourism projects with a team of fully trained and competent local staff. They organize the reception of the visitors in Manaus and their transport to the Xixuaú village, and provide ongoing hospitality services. Ecotourism generates income for more than 50 people from 4 communities of the Jauaperi national park. Each member has a specific job and works with established shifts.

Ecotourism at Xixuaú is the result of combined efforts within the world of international non-profit. Since 2004, various socio-environmental organizations have supported the local population of Xixuaú in its fight against deforestation and for the conservation of the forest and its biodiversity.

International cooperation, with the help of Trentino Insieme association enabled the construction of the Ecolodge and the purchase of the Ariranha and Certeza boats.

Amazônia Onlus has been the driving force for the development of the cooperative and staff training. On a daily basis, the association collaborates with CoopXixuaú by facilitating communication between locals and tourists, as well as providing cultural mediation and translation during their stay.

Amazon Charitable Trust supports Xixuaú in setting up a scientific research centre to benefit and involve all the native communities in the region.

Fundação Vitoria Amazônica supports the cooperative in its path of bolstering the production and trading chains of the Brazilian nut and natural fibres.

MISSION

Our mission is to offer you an authentic and unforgettable experience.
We want to offer you the privilege of being in untouched nature and experiencing spontaneous intercultural relations.
We want to offer you the necessary comfort and services for a regenerating break, an opportunity for physical and mental well-being, while limiting the social and environmental impact of your visit.
We want to do this by improving the living conditions of the inhabitants of the forest and ensuring the preservation of the environment and its biodiversity.

VISION

We want to be an example of authentic community ecotourism. We wish to expand our management model, which combines environmental protection with the reduction of local poverty, to the benefit of the ten communities of our river. We want to encourage the training of our young people and participate in international scientific research through the creation of a future research centre.

THE STAFF

Our staff is numerous and every person is indispensable for the good functioning of the Xixuaú Ecolodge. Get to know some of the people with whom you will have the pleasure of sharing your stay here.

Aluisio Barroso do Nascimento

The first friendly face you’ll meet in Manaus! Aluisio is the financial director of the cooperative and he is responsible for the reception in Manaus and for the purchase of all the materials and food necessary for your stay in the heart of the Amazon forest. Greatly talented for mathematics, Aluisio is a born leader and one of the founders of the CoopXixuaú.

Alcinei Gama da Silva

Always attentive and punctual, Alcinei, the administrator of the ecolodge, is one of the first young people of the Jauaperì river to have reached his goal to attend university. Between one duty and another, he finds time to study Pedagogy and plans to graduate in a couple of years. His dream? To teach in the village school. The children already adore him and every afternoon they force him to play endless football matches.

Francisco Alves dos Santos Nascimento

Born and raised in Xixuaú, he knows every remote corner of his forest and is proud to show it to you. Francisco is a tour guide who loves his work, and he is able to sight and hear the slightest sign of life in the forest, from the smallest ant to – for him, nothing extraordinary – the majestic jaguar.

Elizama Andrade da Silva

Her passion for computer science was evident from the first training courses of the cooperative. She naturally took on the role of secretary and her meeting minutes are drafted with extreme accuracy! Elizama is the mother of 5 beautiful children – who will probably brighten up your stay with their joy and curiosity – and every morning you can find her in the village school, preparing snacks for her family as well as the other children of the village.

Carlos Alberto Nascimento

Fishing for a piranha in the Amazon rivers is child’s play! But only the legendary fisherman Carlito is able to guarantee, come sun or rain, during the arid summer or the wet season, enough fish to feed a group of hungry tourists returning from a trek in the forest as well as all the working staff…Among other things, he is also the oldest inhabitant of Xixuaú, son of Teodorico, founder of the village.

João Soares Gomes

Everyone at Xixuaú has a story to tell, but he has hundreds. He writes songs that only a few trusted can listen to and for which he finds inspiration among the rocks of the Marral, 20 km north of Xixuaú, right on the border with the reserve of the warlike Indios Waimiri-Atroari, where he lives alone with his 5 dogs. When you arrive, João will first show you his manioc, banana and papaya plantation…

Raimundo Alves Barroso

A man of few words but extremely attentive, Raimundo will take care of you as if you were a child. Because that’s what you are when you visit a new place without knowing about its potential dangers. A helpful and experienced guide, Gurì (this is his nickname) is an expert in imitating the call of animals and, when you least expect it, your canoe is surrounded by giant otters!

Nadia Alves Barroso

President of the Xixuaú community, when she is not in the village, Nadia is traveling to put pressure on local institutions to bring more health care, more schools, more services. Mother of 6 children and already a grandmother at 30, multitasking Nadia is one of the three cooks of the CoopXixuaú. The experience of a housewife, integrated with the cooperative training courses, produces delicious dishes and an unforgettable cupuaçu cream.

Chiara Tosi

Before arriving at Xixuaú you’ll have already met Chiara. You may have talked to her on the phone, Skype or by e-mail and she’ll have patiently answered your endless questions, reassured you about travel, security, local organization and also convinced you that, after all, the Amazon tarantulas are not so big. An ecologist, Chiara carried out field research on three continents before falling madly in love with the Amazon river dolphins. Since 2009 she has been developing sustainable development projects, forest conservation, REDD + and communication actions in defence of the tropical forests of Brazil, Tanzania and Indonesia.

Emanuela Evangelista

When you arrive in Xixuaú she’ll be at the pier waiting for you, together with the rest of the staff. During your stay she will appear regularly – between a release of turtles and a project meeting and a river mission – to facilitate your coexistence with the locals, intermediate, translate and then vanish back into the forest. A biologist, Emanuela is a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and since 2000 she has been involved in the research and conservation of the tropical forest in the Amazon, where she lives permanently. In 2009 she received the recognition of Environmentalist of the Year for her commitment against deforestation and in defence of the local people.

Who we are. The Xixuaú Amazon Ecolodge. Ecotourism to protect the Amazon Forest.

Ecotourism at Xixuaú is the result of combined efforts within the world of international non-profit. Since 2004, various socio-environmental organizations have supported the local population of Xixuaú in its fight against deforestation and for the conservation of the forest and its biodiversity.

MISSION

VISION