FAQ

It is extremely safe where we are, safer than any urban areas in most if not all “developed” countries.

Ecuador has been in the international news recently regarding the rising level of violent crime over the past few years and the current administration’s fight against drug cartels using Ecuador as a transport hub for illegal substances. Ecuador’s President declared 22 gangs and organizations as terrorist groups and has utilized the military to combat organized crime in an “internal armed conflict”.

This conflict is limited to targeted criminal groups in very targeted areas of the country, despite international news reports of a “country at war”, most of Ecuador is unaffected by this police action, and where Las Aguas Risas is located, we are completely unaffected. Please do not let exaggerated news articles prevent you from visiting this beautiful country. But as always, remain cautious while traveling.

Yes, we have bugs, a massive variety of beautiful and harmless bugs. There may be a few poisonous ones, we never see them. Personally, we are not too affected by the bugs, occasional mosquito or gnat bites in the mornings or evenings, and sometimes annoyed by flies out in the field. However, some people react to them more severely than others. Plan accordingly. Bring long sleeves, long pants, hat, anti-itch cream if you are more susceptible to bites, repellant if you need it – PLEASE bring non-chemical natural deterrents if at all possible, we use peppermint and/or other essential oils.

No, we are a strictly vegan community. You may not eat animals or their byproducts here. Please do not bring anything to Las Aguas Risas that is not plant-based.

No, the entire 100 hectare property is smoking free. Please do not contact us about visiting if you are a smoker.

Yes, drinking alcohol in moderation is allowed.

Yes, all plant-based foods are allowed at Aguas Risas.

Yes! We are accepting new prospective members. Please first read our membership page and then Contact Us.

Yes! We accept short-term volunteers through the WorkAway platform. You can also contact us directly about volunteer stays.

Please see What To Bring?

Please see our Location Page for more information about finding us.

Yes. We are currently connected to the utility grid. Power is usually consistent, though we have occasional outages. A majority of Ecuador's electricity is generated by hydro-electric, so is quite sustainable. However, droughts in recent years have caused scheduled blackouts at times. We plan to add our own micro hydro-electric generation and/or solar generation at some point on the future.

We typically have adequate internet connection. Our rural internet is Radio frequency based, not fiber optic, so speeds are slower than in cities, and we sometimes have unscheduled  interruptions because power is temporarily out at some node connecting us to an internet trunk. But these are rare and usually fixed within a few hours.

Yes. We have gravity fed water direct from a stream on property. All water is sediment filtered, usually 2-stage. Drinking water is filtered by 5 stage reverse osmosis, after 2-stage sediment filtration.

We have tankless gas water heaters for showers.

No. All our toilets have been converted to simple but effective  "Loveable Loo" style composing toilets. All our waste eventually enriches the soil.

We do not recommend bringing companion animals for short-term stays. Traveling to Ecuador with your four-legged friend is bureaucratically difficult, and returning to many countries, particularly the US, is more so. 

For permanent members, it’s possible. 

We love dogs and cats and spent decades working with rescues and adopting a huge number of cats and dogs that no one else wanted. Several accompanied us when we moved here to Ecuador. We would not have left our family members behind, and wouldn’t expect potential members to do that either. 

We also realize that domesticated pets can be quite detrimental to native fauna.

So we have to strike a balance. We have taken significant steps to safeguard our four legged family members from potential harm here in the Amazon, as well as prevent, or minimize, their negative impact on native animals, birds, reptiles, insects, etc. Potential community members planning to bring companion animals would be expected to do the same. 

We constructed a fence around the main house (community center) to keep our dogs from roaming the property, while still allowing them  plenty of space to run around. We also walk them on leads every day so they get their sniffing exercise in. 😁

We also keep the cats confined in an indoor-outdoor “kitty-condo” enclosure at all times. 

Likewise, as a 100% vegan community, we only feed our animals plant-based foods, no animal flesh or animal products. It’s an additional expense that one should budget for, but everyday life is so much less expensive than the US that it is not too hard to do. 

So while we do not require potential members to leave their four-legged family behind, we strongly suggest they do not continue to expand their family before (or after) coming. One of our priorities is to reforest and rewild the property for the protection of native animals. We don’t want the community to become a rescue/sanctuary for domestic animals. 

You can read about veganism on the Vegan Society’s website.

We also recommend watching the following documentaries: