What’s the Indigenous Spa All About?

La Selva Jungle Lodge, located in the heart of the pristine Amazon Rainforest of Ecuador has created what they call The Indigenous Spa, offering rejuvenating treatment by two native Quichua Indigenous women. This unique 1 hour and 20 minute spa treatment features native plant-based “rainforest spa” products and is a spiritual and educational experience.

The treatment, for instance, includes a magical dusting away of evil spirits with special leaves, a foot massage with special scented plants from the forest, an organic milk-rice facial mask, and an organic concoction of herbs that have been brewed and cooled to a lukewarm temperature, used to rinse off the facial mask and to supply new organic rainforest nutrition for the skin. Following the spa, the guest receives an Amazon fruit-based “energy drink,” made with fresh juices from tropical fruits such as noni and açaí.

Helping Hands in the Forest

La Selva Jungle Lodge began this project as yet another way to find sustainable work for its rainforest dwelling neighbors. Most of the profits from The Indigenous Spa (each treatment costs $69) returns to the community as donations through La Selva’s foundation, Helping Hands in the Forest. The lodge hopes to develop more Spa options and is considering developing a special line of spa products.

As their guests treat themselves to the after-spa tropical fruit, the Indigenous women who provide the Indigenous Spa Treatment relax for a moment with the client. Although the women, one of whom has no identity papers and has never been to a city, speak only a handful of words in English and speak Spanish as a second language (their first language is the native Indigenous dialect), they communicate smoothly with their guests through the sharing of their traditional knowledge.

A Sensitive Topic? Insensitive PR?

The readers interested in or involved in ecotourism projects working with Indigenous community members will find the exchange of comments on this page (Vivirlatino blog article, July 8, 2009) – between the writer and La Selva owner Eric Schwartz – interesting.

The following are from Eric’s response to questions in the article about the use of ecotourism as a tool for economic development for local and Indigenous people, distribution of wealth, and respectful relationships with native people.

“My employees earn on average 8 times minimum wage plus tips, plus private health insurance. Although Ecuador has its own system of insurance for workers I did not think it was good enough for the sixty people who work for me. Our neighbors practically have health insurance in that we bring in at least 6 medical missions a year…”

“The issue is complex and something I have been thinking about and working on for 25 years. Half the people in this country live below the poverty level… [F]or the people I can reach through my foundation, I provide them with [employment opportunities] and the contracts which I do little to negotiate and end with 10 for them for every one for me, which is how it should be.”

About La Selva Jungle Lodge

Founded in 1986 Eric and Maggie Schwartz, La Selva’s longevity is a testament to the quality of their service and their tireless efforts to preserve the wildlife that guests come to view. Typically, La Selva guests, in groups of 8 or less, go with an English-speaking naturalist and native tracker to learn and see the sights of the Amazon rainforest in short hikes combined with canoe trips. The lodge, which also features a butterfly farm, offers tours that usually run for 4-5 days.

A pioneer in ecotourism development in the region, La Selva has accommodated more than fifty thousand guests from almost 40 countries and has won many ecotourism awards and recognitions. The lodge is currently undergoing a major renovation project to turn many of the standard bungalows into luxury suites (although not the kind of “luxury” that includes television, internet, or recorded music) featuring large balconies with exquisite view of the rainforest, and the options of having Indigenous Spa Treatment in your own room or taking a siesta in the relaxing lounge in their living room.

>> Find La Selva Jungle Lodge on Ecotourism Explorer