We started this business from scratch; first we bought the 2 houses and land, going ahead with the process of achieving our vision. We were aware that it was a long and expensive process. With effort and hard work we have been reinvesting since the beginning and with a limited budget we achieved all what you can see while maintaining our principles and initial thoughts. The concept and idea is to preserve the original design of the house and the beautiful environment surrounding us, in contrast to the rest of the town, which is a concrete jungle. Here the forest has been covered completely with cement, not considering any green areas, nor respecting the environment and neighbours.

These are the original principles and thoughts that initiated and shaped the beautiful project that is today Rupa Wasi Eco lodge:

• We preserved the grounds in which the lodge is build,
• We have many avocado, walnut and native trees, as well as orchids and plants in our gardens.
• We have reforested with native trees.  
• We feed no birds or animals, instead we have chosen to plant blooming endemic plants and trees to attract them.
• We use no pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers to attract greater numbers of species.
• We are building our lodge with recycled wood from remodelled houses.
• We treat the wood and give a finish with lead-free paint; stain lacquer or varnish. Instead we use Lynn oil to protect the wood.
• To protect the wood from water, we used bee wax.
• We encourage our visitors to avoid bringing unnecessary plastic into the sanctuary and to be aware of the impact they cause.
• We promote the refilling of water containers of our guests with carbon filtered water we provide.
• We were assisted by Architects in the design and construction of the lodge.
• We considered natural light, convenient cooling from the trees, and in fact the whole design blend in with the cloud forest around it.
• The electricity we use comes from a renewable source, that you will recognize as a huge hydro electric just before arriving to Aguas Calientes.
• To clean our toilets, rooms, common areas and restaurant we use a natural biodegradable disinfectant, without exposing ourselves and our guests to toxic chemicals that also damage the environment.
• We have hired local people from town, we have invested in capacitating them. They have developed professionally, they are formally employed with all their benefits, and we pay more than the average salary of other hotels.
• We clean our blankets and towels with a chlorine free Ecological detergent.
• We constantly check and eliminate leaking toilets, faucets and pipes.
• Our Indoor and outdoor lighting systems are low watt fluorescent lighting.
• We promote a conscious and eco life style; this is a very important mean of contributing to help solving the climate crisis that affects us all.
• The soap we provide is chlorine free, biodegradable and 100% organic.
• Our roof is made from recycled cardboard material, very efficient and durable.
• We properly dispose the used batteries from guests in containers that we later take to be efficiently stored.
• We use recycled plastic storage containers.

Concerning the solid waste: for many years we had compost, but we stopped doing it, because the council encouraged the hotels and restaurants to separate their garbage and created municipal big compost were all the organic waste from town goes.

We are pioneers with a innovative system we called ecological bricks, is a very effective way of disposing trash like plastic, wraps, and small non degradable trash that is able to fit through the neck of the bottle, we compress it until forming a strong and durable brick, that later we use it as brick, mainly to fill holes in construction, you will find them in each room.

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