In the days of disappearing trees and ever-present pavement, the idea of the Eco-Lodge is taking hold for travelers looking for something just a bit different. From coastal desert cabins in Namibia to huts in outlying areas of New Guinea, these off the map locales offer just what the modern day adventurer needs to get a healthy dose of fresh air. But, there are some lodges that have taken their business to the next level. Not only do they not harm the environment, but they have developed a synergistic relationship with local villages, adding education, jobs, money, and medical care where there would otherwise be none. Here, Pyrodes profiles two of them, one in the Jungles of Belize and another along the Amazon’s Rio Negro River. Both of these jewels offer a great adventure and a good cause to support……Let us tell you how to be proud of where you spend you vacation dollars, after the jump..

The Rio Negro Lodge sits nowhere near anywhere on the ever-green shores of the ever-black Rio Negro River, one of the two major rivers that eventually form the Amazon (top picture). Involving no less than a flight to Manaus, Brazil, a prop plane flight to Barcelos, and a two hour boat ride up river, this lodge is remote enough that its regulars include howler monkeys, caymans, and a jaguar or two (who eat said monkeys). The Lodge’s primary focus is offering some of the world’s best bass fishing as it sits along the planet’s richest waters for catching the huge and beautiful peacock bass. Even more than that, it offers one of the best ways to experience the Amazon itself, which is truly fueled and centered on its river core. Hours spent on the water gives you a front row seat to the world’s richest ecosystem at work. You’ll see otters, piranha,  gators, monkeys, and the world’s last remaining fresh water dolphins. You just may catch a few twenty pound trophies as well….

Yet, if you dig beneath the surface, you’ll see the fishing and wildlife spotting is just the start of what this place is doing. The lodge itself supports and funds the attached Rio Negro Foundation. The Foundation integrates itself with the Lodge in several seamless, creative ways. The workers at the lodge and their families take up residence in an attached village, a village that has a Church, day care center, school, and houses that trump most in the area in terms of quality. As doctors and dentists come to fish, they have also contributed to one of the most modern dental and medical clinics in the area, which draws patients at times from up and down the Rio Negro. Electricity, infrastructure, you name it, and the Lodge provides it. Even the government has taken notice. Officials come from the state capital periodically and set up shop at the Lodge for villagers around the area to come and handle ID and other state document issues, saving the local population a long and expensive journey down river. The local populous make the Lodge possible, and the Lodge makes their lives better. It is a system that works, and makes travel that much more worth your ticket.

Fishing not your game? No worries; there are other genres of lodges that have picked up on this same theme. Head north to the remote western forests of Belize, and place your push pin at the Lamanai Outpost Lodge. This small set of cabins and gravel paths at the edge of the expansive New River Lagoon leave nothing to be desired. Jungle tours, explorations of Mayan cities, and nighttime crocodile hunts are just a few of the distractions to take you away from a day swinging in your cabin hammock and recovering from out-of-this-world meals. Lamanai also benefits from its prime location just a short Tropic Airlines flight from some of the best scuba diving and snorkeling on the planet, period. It is a piece of tourist gold, but, it too, has some other layers to it.

With a staff that draws from the local village and plans in place to gather books and money to support the education of local children and the development of the local library, the Lodge reaches out to its surrounding communities instead of putting up fences. It brings attention to the local populations and provides more than jobs to area residents as it even pumps water into the village water tower. In exchange, the lodge provides its visitors a true education in local life and the area’s history, recent and ancient alike. It is these types of relationships that can and should be a business model for all the burgeoning lodges around the world. It is great to save the environment, but, let’s be honest, the plane flight you took from somewhereland to whereverville probably cost the ozone more than a simple Disney World outing. But, if these lodges empower communities and connect local populations to the world and their environment without encouraging urban over-development,  that is a true service, courtesy of your travel dollars.

Do you know any great Eco-Lodges? Let us know about them in the comments section! Want to write about it? E-mail us at the Contact Us Page!

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