Hello! We are “La Casa del Tapir”! (Tapir’s House), an environmental education initiative promoted by AndigenA Foundation in partnership with other organizations in Latin America that seeks to generate empathy and public awareness regarding tapir conservation.

AndigenA Foundation is a Venezuelan non-governmental organization created on 1999 with the aim to promote the environmental conservation in the Neotropical region with emphasis in the Andes Mountain range. Since 1999 AndigenA has kept a joint work in favor of tapir conservation in Venezuela with a positive impact in other countries of the species’ range. On 2010, AndígenA created a novel environmental education initiative called "La Casa del Tapir" (Tapir’s House) with the purpose to generate a popular interest and commitment regarding tapir conservation.

Tapir’s House works mainly as a virtual center for spreading scientific and popular information about all tapir species through Internet. In order to reach a better efficiency, we produce visually attractive science-based educational materials, mainly in Spanish language. In this respect, our materials have been used by hundreds of teachers and their students all across Latin America. Thanks to this original and professional work, Tapir’s House is currently an important reference and regional leader regarding tapir conservation.

From the beginning, Tapir’s House activities has been carried out as a volunteer work due to the lack of a financial support to sustain the activities in a regular way. However, we must recognize an important and valuable support offered by a small group of people identified with our noble cause, several recognized as Honorary Members. Because we want to reinforce the educational success reached until now, we ask again for your kind attention, generosity and sincere support today.

“In the end, we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand and we will understand only what we are taught.” — Baba Dioum, 1968.

AMAZING TAPIRS

Although tapirs are key species in the ecology of the tropical forests of America and Asia, many people in their range are unaware of the ecological and cultural importance of these majestic creatures.

Through a regular diffusion of science-based information, we have tried look to draw the attention of the public in order to highlight the importance of protecting to these threatened species. We want to reinforce this educational work through the production of new materials focused mainly in the importance of the tropical forests. These ecosystems are tapirs' habitat and they are an important source of biodiversity, pure air, water, food, health and spiritual inspitation for the human beings.

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR NOW?

During next quarter we want to inspire and motivate more people to focus their attention on tapir conservation.

Likewise, we want to produce more educational materials (brochures, stickers, an activities notebook for children (with educational games, coloring sheets, tapir facts, among others info) to share through virtual and in-person meetings. On next quarter, we will share some amazing achieved gotten through a pioneering Tapir Conservation project carried out in Waraira Repano national park (Central Coast Mountain Range in Venezuela), in partnership with Guarenas Repano Foundation. With our allies in Colombia (Mountain Tapir Forever Project) and Ecuador (Fundación Oso Andino), we will also disseminate important information on mountain tapir (Tapirus pinchaque) conservation. This new stage will be full of wonderful news and gifts for tapir fans!

Saving the tapirs and their habitat will contribute towards:

• To conserve the tropical ecosystems, especially the rainforests.

• To protect the watersheds, vital for the people, to irrigate the lands and to produce electric energy.

• To protect the soil from erosion so that the land will continue to support agriculture and to prevent natural disasters.

AIMS: AMAZING TAPIRS

Raise public awareness, with emphasis on children, in favor of the tapir conservation and their habitat:

• by developing hands-on, education activities for various educational levels.

• by using in the environmental education, the most updated science-based information about tapir ecology.

• by creating and distributing educational materials for free use through Internet, in educational centers and other community-based organizations.

• by using the South American common tapir and the mountain tapir as “focal species” for the conservation in some wild areas of Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador, especially in national parks.

Evaluate the effectiveness of environmental education for its future implementation in specific areas of the South American common tapir’s range in Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador:

• by measuring attitude changes in the people regarding the tapir conservation within the work areas.

WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN YOUR CONTRIBUTION MAKE?

Maybe one single dollar means nothing to many people in developed countries, but for us in Venezuela is a concrete possibility to sustain a wonderful long-term wildlife conservation project based on environmental education as strategy to arouse interest of the people toward tapir conservation. Each contribution can help us to sustain this wonderful initiative in favor to biodiversity conservation.

Each contribution that you give through this crowdfunding campaign will allows us to provide education to our closer neighbors, especially children from the urban and rural areas as well as sustain our informative websites and social media.

Your contribution is a precious opportunity to recognize the real value of the nature and our responsibility with its future. Please, consider your sincere support today and so we can make together a difference in this world full of contrast.

WHAT WILL THE MONEY RAISED BE USED FOR?

The fund raised through this crowdfunding campaign it will allow us to continue this wonderful environmental education work and sustain an active work during the next quarter (July 2024 – October 2024).

We want:

• Produce 500 stickers to distribute free of charge in educational centers.

• Produce brochures and a set of educational games in digital format to distribute online.

• Print 1,000 Activities Book about tapirs for children.

• Sustain regular information through the Internet.

• Develop a series of virtual conferences and talks as part of a Distance Education Program.

• Pay professional fees linked to the production of educational materials (brochures, stickers, educational games, multimedia presentations, etc.).

• Cover administrative expenses (communication: mail, telephone, internet, etc.) to sustain the activities of La Casa del Tapir.

• Pay for the maintenance of our websites (hosting and domain) and social networks.

• Pay living expenses (food, accommodation and fuel) during visits to educational centers (mainly elementary schools and high schools).

EXPECTED RESULTS

• Students and their parents will obtain qualified information about tapirs and topics related to environmental conservation.

• Children and adults will awaken greater awareness and commitment towards the conservation of the tapir and their environments.

• Government staff and community leaders will be motivated to take a more proactive role in strengthening local conservation programs.

• Our environmental education initiative will be used as a joint model for other conservation programs in Venezuela and eventually in neighboring countries.

UPDATES

We will be providing updates and progress of the work through:

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/LaCasaDelTapir

Website and blog: https://lacasadeltapir.blogspot.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/lacasadeltapir

Website: www.andigena.org