Our story
So… what’s a Yátaro?
Yátaro is the Muisca word for the Black-billed mountain toucan (Andigena nigrirostris) which lives in the Andean region of Colombia, Perú, Ecuador and Venezuela.
Back in early 2021 we (Mafe & Francisco) started fulfilling a dream that had been on our minds for several years: creating a natural reserve on the Colombian Andes. During the early days of the project we noticed a peculiar bird song that sounded almost like a baby crying, we couldn’t see the bird, but the song was always with us when we were out planting a tree or gathering wood. We were aware there were Toucans in the area but never had heard the song of the Yátaro, so after asking people from the area we learned that the bird was known by that name and, even better, the indigenous name of the region we were settling in was called Valle de los Yátaros (Yataros Valley).
At that point we decided to name our project after the bird that had been our companion during the days of our first rainy season and the initial construction phases of the project.
To this day, Yátaros and many other animal and plant species (even rocks and water) keep reminding us with their songs, sounds and colors why we are here and why we want to share the beauty and the ecosystem services this place provides with more people.
We are
María Fernanda (Mafe) and Francisco.
Mafe is Biologist and has worked on several environmental and conservation NGOs. Francisco is a techie who has worked on the technology and media industry. We both are in love with Colombia and nature. That love drove us to create “Proyecto Yátaro”, our life project.