CATS Canterbury students to visit the Ecuadorian rainforest

CATS Canterbury students will be offered the opportunity to take the trip of a lifetime deep into the Ecuadorian rainforest.
The trip, organised by Jonathan Weekes (teacher of Psychology and International Baccalaureate Theory of Knowledge), will allow the students a rare opportunity to view first-hand the culture and traditions of the local Kichwa people.





Their two-week stay, from 19th June to 4th July 2010, has been designed to provide an introduction to Kichwa jungle living. It includes:

• an introduction to Kichwa traditions,
• a visit to the Río PumaYaco (from which the site gets its name),
• a day of traditional fishing,
• an introduction to Kichwa myths and legends,
• an afternoon of making traditional Kichwa handicrafts,
• a forest walk to learn about the traditional medicinal uses of the plants,
• a demonstration from a Kichwa shaman,
• a demonstration of traditional Kichwa dance and music,
• a blow dart tournament and vine swinging,
• a 2 day forest hike (including wild camp) to visit sacred cave and sacred waterfall with opportunity to have face painted with achiote,
• and a day away from the jungle to visit a wildlife zoo in Tena.

The trip follows Jonathan Weeke's extensive travelling of the region, including a number of stays at the PumaYaco site.

"The visit will offer a complete programme of activities and allow students to fully appreciate the natural beauty of the Amazon rainforest and learn about the lifestyle and culture of the indigenous Kichwa communities of the area," Mr Weekes said.

"The facilities at the site and the program of activities that they offer provide a comfortable experience while still giving their guests an authentic, eye-opening adventure to a world and way of life they would otherwise know very little about."

CATS Canterbury is a high-quality international school welcoming students from over thirty countries. A registered IB school, CATS prides itself on a producing successful, independent and internationally-minded students who progress to some of the UK's best universities.

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