Just 15 kilometers away from the Iguazú National Park, in an area known as 600 Hectares, you can find the Mbya Guaraní Jasy Porã Community, a cultural and ecological enclave that offers a community-based tourism experience in the heart of the Yryapú Jungle.
There, around 60 families share their daily lives, ancestral knowledge, and conservation projects with visitors seeking a deeper connection with the territory.
Handicrafts, trails, and ancestral knowledge
The visit starts with a handicrafts stand displaying wooden carvings, seeds, and tacuara, representing the Guarani cosmology. The guide, Milicio Cabrera, whose name means “God of Thunder,” leads the tour through community spaces such as the intercultural school, the health center, the church, and the native plant nursery.
During the walk, you can see traditional houses, the assembly place where the chief is chosen, and a 600-year-old rosewood tree, a symbol of the forest’s longevity. They also show an aripuca, an ancestral trap for birds and small animals made of pyramid-shaped branches.
Education, health, and territorial sovereignty
The community manages basic services with intercultural participation.
The Intercultural School No. 941 has seven teachers, including Guarani educators. It serves 113 children from Jasy Porã and nearby communities.
In health, a native nurse provides regular care, and a doctor visits twice a week. Each family owns a plot of land, strengthening their productive and cultural autonomy.
Native species nursery: restoration and circular economy
The community nursery, donated by the Iguazú Jungle Lodge hotel, produces seedlings of native species such as timbó, black parrot, orchids, and fruit trees.
The production is sold to tourists and used to reforest degraded areas of the hotel, following a circular economy model. They also combat the leucaena leucocephala, an invasive species affecting local biodiversity.
“We want to give something back to the space that was altered by the constructions,” says Marcelo Ghione, the hotel manager.
Certification and indigenous environmental leadership
Jasy Porã is the first indigenous community in the country to be certified as a Seed Producing Area.
The project has been replicated by other hotels and positions Jasy Porã as a leader in ecological restoration and inclusive tourism.
Agronomist Marcelo Fuguet emphasizes the value of teamwork: “They achieve another livelihood with this project, tourism, and handicraft sales. They are also improving the forest around their homes.”
Cosmovision, gastronomy, and purpose-driven youth
Guarani chants, traditional meals, and dreams of education to strengthen the territory.
The visit ends with a youth choir performing Guarani chants and a traditional meal prepared by women from the community.
Milicio, a student of Tourism and Environmental Guide, dreams of professional development to return and share what he has learned: “I want the jungle not to be lost. It is very important to us.”
Cover photo: Canal Doce Misiones
