A local initiative that brings students from schools in Cochamó and Río Puelo closer to the landscapes and nature of the place they call home.
The municipality of Cochamó is a natural paradise, internationally known for its stunning landscapes: ancient alerce forests, rivers, glaciers, and the world-famous granite walls. It’s one of Chile’s top destinations for hiking, climbing, fishing, and rural tourism. The Cochamó Valley alone receives over 15,000 visitors each year. And while many of those who come are Chilean, only a small percentage are residents of the Cochamó district..
With the goal of helping with the goal of helping children and youth from the Cochamó district connect with the place they live, the initiative "Discovering the Natural Wealth of My District" was created, which seeks to connect students from Cochamó and Puelo with the landscapes, nature, history, and the importance of protecting the valleys where they live.
The program consists of four theoretical and practical workshops covering topics such as local biodiversity and geography, camping skills, first aid, and hiking techniques. It concludes with a three-day environmental education camp in La Junta.
Making it possible requires strong community collaboration. From the camping facilities provided in La Junta, the packhorses supported by the Arrieros del Valle Cochamó, transportation arranged by both schools, guides and instructors from the Club Andino Cochamó, to food, materials, and workshop coordination managed by the Valle Cochamó Organization and Puelo Patagonia — this project exists thanks to the social cohesion of local organizations that see in this initiative a chance to help prevent youth migration from the countryside to the city.
A world-class paradise unknown at the local level.
It all began within the framework of the Conserva Puchegüín project and the Cochamó Valley Nature Sanctuary, when members of Puelo Patagonia and the Valle Cochamó Organization visited 11th-grade students at the Juan Soler Manfredini School to learn about their views on the natural areas surrounding them. During the conversation, they asked: “How many of you have ever hiked up to La Junta (Cochamó Valley)?
Surprisingly, after the question, only three students raised their hands.
"There are many people who have lived here their whole lives and have never visited one of the most important places in the district in terms of its natural wealth,” says teacher Leopoldo Muñoz, a board member of the Valle Cochamó Organization who has dedicated more than 40 years to education.
Reflecting on this, Andrés Amengual, director of Puelo Patagonia and participant in the workshop with the students, highlights the importance of involving young people in nature conservation:
It feels contradictory that while a global fundraising campaign like Conserva Puchegüín is underway to protect this land, most children in Cochamó have never seen the most beautiful part of their own district.
According to a 2019 study by Balloon Latam conducted in the district, young people tend to migrate from rural areas to cities in search of education or job opportunities. This aligns with data from the 2017 Census, which shows that only 16.7% of Cochamó’s population is under the age of 15 — a figure lower than both the regional and national averages.
That’s why one of the main goals of this initiative is to help prevent the migration of young people from the countryside to the city — a key social challenge in the Cochamó district. “It was eye-opening to see how few students stood up. We need to reverse that trend because the situation is unfair — the community itself is the main guardian of its environment,” says Amengual.
