Help to protect the Antpitta habitat

We reached our goal! Thank you so much for your contribution to our cause.

We will continue to accept donations and put them towards the creation of Foundation Paz de las Aves and our first reforestation project.

The Paz Bird Refuge (Refugio Paz de las Aves), located in Nanegalito, Ecuador is the first place in the world where humans began communicating with the Antpitta Bird Species in their very own habitat. Thousands of people have witnessed brothers Angel and Rodrigo Paz, calling the shy Antpittas by name such as Maria and Willie, who then appear from the forest for a meal of worms and then return to their home in the forest. Our Refuge is also one of only a few places where you can observe the magnificent Andean Cock of the Rock as they dance, prance and fight for a chance with the females. 

After seventeen years of dedicating our lives to these birds and allowing others to share in this experience, we now urgently need your help.

This past year, the beloved Matriarch of our family passed away leaving the property where we originated the business to her nine children. However, Angel and his brother Rodrigo are the only family members who want to preserve this land and its forests so it can continue to provide a refuge for these rare birds into the future. The other seven members of the family, who need to maintain their own families, have indicated they wish to sell the property in the commercial market, which means it will be used to raise cattle and would destroy the habitat for these amazing birds and further deforest this already fragile area.

This blog is explaining with more detail: https://notyouraverageamerican.com/save-refugio-paz-de-las-aves/

The goal of Refugio Paz de las Aves is to raise the money ($155,000) needed to purchase the land. This gives us a chance to back to our origins and give Refugio Paz de Las Aves a true home to conserve this pristine area. We are asking for your donations to help achieve this goal. The family will give us four months to raise the money and if we don’t, they will then put the property up for sale. 

1)  Your help would preserve this family business that Angel and Rodrigo have poured our hearts into over the past 17 years and that has allowed people from all over the world to visit and experience the cloud forest and all she holds. Rodrigo and Angel are also donating their shares of the property to this combined family business and cloud forest conservation effort. We need to raise the rest of the $155,000 needed to purchase the property. We have 4 months to collect the money, the time started from April 8th, 2022.

2) Your donation would help preserve this amazing reserve which is not only the habitat for the Antpittas and the Cock of the Rock, but a vital area for the entire world. A heart-breaking prediction given by the non-profit organization Rainforest Rescue states that only 17% of Ecuador’s trees are primary forest and if the current rate of deforestation continues, the country will be completely deforested in 30 years. We all depend on the cloud forests of this region, the lungs of the world. We cannot sit by and watch this happen to this amazing biodiverse area. Together we can be part of the solution.

3) If we are able to raise the money to purchase this land, our commitment would be one of conservation and reforestation. A percentage of profits from Refugio Paz de Las Aves each year will be dedicated to reforesting the pastures that had been previously used for cattle on the property. Our dream is to see these 49 hectares return to the lush cloud forest it once was. We want to bring back to life all the flora and fauna that should never have been destroyed in the first place. Please help by donating to this cause.

DETAILS

Surface to be purchased: hectares 49 (Acre 121.082)

Price per hectare: $4.081,63

Total Price: $200.000,00

Down Payment: 

Angel Paz contribution: $22.222,00

Rodrigo Paz contribution: $22.222,00

Others: $600

WE ARE LOOKING FOR $155.000,00