In 2007, Tompkins Conservation Chile began a community revitalization project (our version of “urban
renewal”) in the small village of El Amarillo, which is adjacent to Pumalín Douglas Tompkins National Park in chilean Patagonia and has become the gateway community for the park’s southern sector.
The idea was simple: to build house pride by helping subsidize the exterior remodeling
of many run-down and decaying houses. The Foundation thought that a facelift to the
buildings and public spaces might revitalize community spirit, and instill in citizens
this all-important pride in home. In turn, this pride would ripple out from individual
households to the community, the region, and ultimately the nation itself, restoring
dignity and fostering community spirit. This too, we hoped, would ultimately extend
to concern for the broader environment as well, and conservation sensibilities would
become part of the culture in Palena Province, a place of exceptional beauty. This book tells the project’s story.
