"Discovering the Natural Richness of My Commune" is an initiative managed by local organizations that aims to connect students from schools in Cochamó and Río Puelo with the landscapes and nature of the place where they live. This is done through theoretical and practical workshops that ended with an educational camp in La Junta, the heart of the Cochamó Valley. La Junta receives thousands of tourists each year, but a large part of its own community is still unfamiliar with it.
The Cochamó Valley is a natural paradise recognized worldwide for its incredible landscapes, featuring millennia-old Alerce forests, rivers, glaciers, and the stunning granite cliffs that are unique in the world. It is one of the most visited hiking and climbing destinations in our country, attracting more than 15,000 tourists each year. According to records from the Visitor Center, a large portion of the visitors to this place are Chileans, yet only a small percentage are residents of the Cochamó commune.
With the aim of helping children and young people from Cochamó get to know the place where they live, the initiative "Discovering the Natural Richness of My Commune" was created. It seeks to connect the students from the Río Puelo Rural School and the Juan Soler Manfredini Elementary School of Cochamó with the landscapes, nature, history, and the importance of protecting the valleys where they live.
A world-class paradise unknown at the local level.
"There are many people who have lived here their entire life and don't know one of the most important places in their commune in terms of its natural richness," says the teacher Leopoldo Muñoz, a member of the Cochamó Valley Organization's board and someone who has dedicated more than 40 years to education.
It all started within the framework of the Cochamó Valley Nature Sanctuary and the Conserva Puchegüín project, when members of the Cochamó Valley and Puelo Patagonia Organization visited the 11th-grade students of the Juan Soler Manfredini School to learn about their perception of the natural areas surrounding them. During the discussion, the members asked, "How many of you have been to La Junta (Cochamó Valley)?"
Surprisingly, after the question, only three students raised their hands.
This is how the organizations launched this program, which focuses on enhancing the local identity of young people from the schools in Cochamó and Río Puelo regarding their commune and territory. "One of the challenges we had with the Cochamó Valley Nature Sanctuary was connecting this place with the community. We thought that one of the first ways to do this is through the schools, as they are the future generation that can lead the conservation of the commune," highlights Muñoz.
Regarding the above, Andrés Amengual, director of Puelo Patagonia, who participated in the workshop with the students, emphasizes the importance of involving young people in the protection of nature. "It is contradictory to think that while a global fundraising campaign is underway to protect their land, most of the children in Cochamó don't know the most beautiful part of their commune." He also mentioned that it was "a revelation to see how few children stood up: this trend needed to be broken, and we needed to go in the opposite direction, both because of the injustice of the situation and because the community is the main agent of protection for the environment."
The program consisted of four theoretical and practical workshops covering topics such as biodiversity and local geography, camping, first aid, and hiking techniques, and concluded with a three-day Environmental Education Camp in La Junta. Community collaboration has been key to making this happen. From the camping accommodations in La Junta, the guides provided by the Arrieros del Valle Cochamó, transportation from both schools, the guides and instructors from the Cochamó Mountain Club, to the management of food, materials, and workshop facilitators by the Cochamó Valley and Puelo Patagonia Organization, all these efforts made the project possible.
Patricia Almonacid, secretary of the Cochamó Valley Organization and a former student of the Cochamó school, was in charge of leading the Biodiversity workshop. The workshop focused on showing students the natural heritage of their commune, so they could recognize the different species that inhabit the Cochamó Valley when they take their trip there.
For her, conducting this workshop holds special value, as "when I studied here, I didn’t have the opportunity to have a space that helped us value the place where we live," she says. "In fact, it’s when you leave that you truly realize the significance of the incredible place we inhabit," she emphasizes.
Preventing the migration of young people from the countryside to the city: a social challenge in Cochamó.
What Patricia describes is not an isolated fact. According to a study by Balloon Latam conducted in 2019 in the commune, it is observed that young people migrate from the countryside to the cities for reasons related to education or work. This coincides with data from the 2017 CENSO, which reveals that 16.7% of the population in Cochamó are under 15 years old—a figure lower than the regional and even national average.
"We know that it is difficult for older adults to stay in isolated places, which is why they often have to leave. That’s why part of what we promote at Puelo Patagonia is that nature tourism and small-scale livestock farming can be activities that motivate young people from Cochamó to stay," says Andrés Diez, executive director of Puelo Patagonia and spokesperson for the Conserva Pucheguín campaign.
After its successful first edition at the end of 2024, the organizations are already planning the program for this new year and even hope to expand the initiative to other areas of the commune.
Learn more about this project here.
