In the Bodega the food for the animals was stored and prepared. The old building wass far from suitable for the growing needs of the centre. It looked very ramshackle as it had to be repeatedly repaired due to damage caused by monkeys attempting to break in and steal food. There was not enough space to store the food correctly, and when we got too much fruit, some of it rotted. The clay floor and the wooden tables were not really hygienic features and needed improvement.

Comment:
You may wonder why we buy a lot of fruit at once. The communities in thïs area have no financial stability. In the case of an accident or other unforeseen event, they often come to us and ask for money, for example for a doctor or to be able to buy medicines. We obviously help them wherever possible. Both sides can profit from this aid. By giving aid we become useful and important to the local communities. This makes them likely to cooperate with us, for instance with regards respecting the protected status of Selva Viva. The Quichua benefit because they don't suffer a disaster if something unexpected happens. Because most people depend on their plantation for their livelihood it is logical that people pay back with their produce. If people suddenly and unexpectedly pay part of their debts we will have a storage problem. It is impossible to get people to bring produce on a predictable, regular basis. The circumstances are simply different in Ecuador from in Europe.

The new bodega has now a tile floor (better than cement, but a lot more expensive) and enough space to store the fruit. It is a stable and secure construction that is monkey/people/insect-proof (although fast monkeys can come in through the door!), with place for food preparation, sufficient storing place for dishes, buckets, and tools etc, and some cages for animals.