Hi! we are the Tapir’s House (La Casa del Tapir)!... an environmental education initiative promoted by AndígenA foundation from Venezuela in parthership with other organizations and individuals from Latin America.

Tapir’s House arose on 2010 as an idea from the venezuelan geographer Denis Alexander Torres and the colombian biologist Sergio Sandoval. Since then, we have been working like a virtual center for spreading scientific and popular information about all tapir species. Our purpose is fostering the environmental education and public interest regarding these enigmatic creatures and reinforce the efforts conservation worldwide with emphasis in Latin America. Although tapirs are not so charismatic animals, our Facebook page is followed by more than 2,500 people from around the world.

Tapir’s House activities has been sustained as a volunteer work because we lack of a financial support to sustain our activities in a regular way. However, during the recent past, we have received an important and valuable support from a group of friends, honorary members and people identified with our noble cause. Our main aim is to produce a greater educational impact through the virtual scene and beyond. In order to reach this goal, we need today your generous attention and support. 

BACKGROUND 

Time, which sometimes acts for or against the conservation initiatives, it has allowed us recognize that ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION is the best way to guarantee the tapir conservation as well as the nature as a whole. Without education, people's awareness will never be elevated to recognize the real value of the tapirs, which goes beyond of a economic or aesthetic issue. Recognizing the tapirs' ecological and cultural importance will make us their true protectors. 

During last 3 years, we have kept an active environmental education work through the virtual scene on Internet and the occasional visit to several localities in the Tapir’s distribution through Latin America. Today, “La Casa del Tapir” is highlighted as a leader for the Tapir Conservation in the international scene.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR NOW?

Tapirs’ global distribution is part of many countries where day to day survival takes up all the people's time and energy. Unfortunately, environmental conservation issues are generally a very low priority in these countries so any proactive task should not be underestimated.  Working to save the tapirs will eventually bring in its wake other enormous benefits to the people and the nature as a whole. We hope this actions will eventually enable the cycle of poverty to be well managed.

During this year 2021, an strategic Alliance was established between Tapir’s House and 3 local organizations from Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador. Through this joint effort we have started a series of environmental education projects in favor of tapir conservation in mountain environments.

In Venezuela, we work in partnership with “Guarenas Repano Foundation” in order to promote the conservartion of the last lowland tapir (Tapirus terrestris) population in Waraira Repano National Park located in the Coastal Range surrounding Caracas city. We support also the environmental education work promoted in Colombia and Ecuador by the “Mountain Tapir Forever” Project and the “Andean Bear Foundation”.

Saving the tapirs and their mountain habitat will contribute towards:

• To conserve the tropical ecosystems, especially the rainforest, cloud forest and meadows from the highlands.
• To protect the watersheds, vital for the people and 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.

Tapirs are flagship species in the tropics; the symbol to foster important conservation efforts in the most biodiverse regions on Earth.

AIMS

Increase people awareness in favor of tapirs’ conservation and their habitat with emphasis in Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador:

• by developing hands-on, education activities for various grade levels.
• by using in the environmental education, the most updated information about tapir ecology.
• by creating and distributing educational materials for free use in educational centers and other community-base organizations.
• by using the lowland tapir and mountain tapir as “focal species” for the conservation in some wild areas from Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador, especially national parks.

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

• by measuring attitude changes in students and parents regarding the tapir conservation within the work areas.

WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN A FEW DOLLARS MAKE?

Maybe one single dollar means nothing to many people in developing countries, but for us in Latin America is a concrete possibility to sustain a wonderful long-term wildlife conservation project based on environmental education as strategy to spread interest and love for tapirs' conservation and their habitats. One single dollar can help us to sustain our active work in favor to wildlife conservation.

Each contribition that you give to this campaign it will allows us to provide education to our closer neighbors, especially children from the urban and rural areas and sustain our informative page about tapirs on Facebook and blogspot, both entitled "La Casa del Tapir". Your support is a precious opportunity to recognize the real value of the nature and our responsibility with its future. Please, give us your sincere support today and so we can make together a difference in this world full of contrast.

WHAT THE MONEY RAISED WILL BE USED FOR?

The money raised through this campaign it will allow us to sustain the educational initiatives during next quarter of the year 2022. We will produce new original educational materials in order to reinforce a Distance Learning Program through our page on Facebook “La Casa del Tapir” and our website:   https://lacasadeltapir.blogspot.com.

We Want:

• Pay professional fees linked to the production of educational materials (pamphlets, posters, educational sheets, multimedia slideshows, etc.).

• Pay administrative expenses (communication: mail, phone, internet, etc.).

• Pay hosting and domain for a better Website.

• Eventually pay the living expenses (meals, accommodations and fuel) during the visits to educational centers (mainly elementary schools and high schools): 1 visit each 15 days / 3 people.

PROJECT OUTPUTS

• Publication of regular information through our Facebook Page “La Casa el Tapir” and website which can be freely used as educational tool by teachers at schools as well as the general public.
• Production of coloring books about lowland tapir and mountain tapir.
• Production of an educational presentation about lowland tapir in Waraira Repano National Park (Venezuela).
• Production of new pamphlets focused on tapir natural history and conservation.
• The development of a series of virtual conferences and classes as part of Distance Learning Programme.

OUTCOMES

• Students and their parents will get qualified information about tapirs and related environmental conservation issues.
• Children and adults will wake up a stronger awareness and commitment toward the tapir conservation and the environment.
• Government’s staff and community leaders will assume a more active role to reinforce 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 work progress through our Facebook Page:   https://www.facebook.com/LaCasaDelTapir/ and the website:   https://lacasadeltapir.blogspot.com/

OM SRI GANESH NAMAH

“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.

APPROVED! OM SAI RAM