Omar Tello

“The Forest Man” of – Puyo, Ecuador

Omar Tello is known locally as “The Forest Man,” who grew a piece of the Amazon rainforest. Ordained a ‘humble maverick’ at four-years-old, Tello grew up surrounded by nature. However, as adult life came upon him, the wild was replaced by the world of accounting. Working for a bank, Tello felt like a prisoner. Then in 1980, as Ecuador lost thousands of square miles of rainforest due to oil companies, he found his escape. Purchasing a rainforest pasture in Puyo, Tello began restoring Amazonian fauna and flora. His family thought he was mad for taking on such a project. Although he knew it was a big undertaking, Tello felt he had to do something to save species that were becoming extinct. Thus, he gave up his former job as an accountant and proceeded to spend over 40 years recreating a patch of pristine forest in Ecuador. He’s trying to encourage other landowners to do the same, so they can turn the tide of deforestation.

Ecuador has lost thousands of square miles of rainforest, the land converted to pasture and crop fields and cleared for oil and gas development. Today, trees cover just 35 percent of the country’s surface, down from more than 90 percent a century ago.

Initially, Tello’s land was like the surrounding area, stripped of vegetation and reduced to pasture to support livestock. He and his wife planted trees but struggled to make them grow.  They discovered they needed to change the soil. Using organic materials like sawdust and chicken manure, they fertilized the ground and found native seeds to replant.It took Tello the first 15 years of his efforts merely to restore the soil such was the extent of destruction around him. He used, among other materials, sawdust as a base for the compost, adding other nutrients including chicken manure. 

Not only did the trees start growing, but rare regional plants also began to take life. Biodiversity in many forms started showing up, and each new species helped grow the forest, stabilizing the ecosystem. Tello’s rainforest now has a higher floral biodiversity than most jungles within dozens of miles in any direction. Thousands of plant species and animals alike call it home, which Tello painstakingly catalogs. Tello has a separate nursery for the saplings, of which he always has around 10,000. He has given up many of the plants to people interested in planting trees. He also has a nursery for ornamental plants, his only source of income.

Tello traveled to advise farmers on regrowing their land to spread his newfound information. At first, the local growers were apprehensive because they could lose money by restoring the ground, so Tello began working with Humans for Abundance. They established a $250 a month payment to farmers to repair patches of their land. The project already has multiple farmers participating for launching in 2019. It is rare for an individual to take on such a massive project, but Tello has a passion for giving back to the world. Omar Tello still follows a 16-hour routine but says he still loves his tiring routine. He was the subject of a documentary, 7 Hectares Back which won second place in the Yale Environment 360 Video Contest. Today, Tello is a local expert in forest restoration, and in addition to working with farmers, he collaborates with educational institutions and community centers. 

“What we’re doing now to preserve nature isn’t enough. We should plant the forests we destroyed and give back what we took from the world. The same nature that was stolen.“

Website: https://www.humansforabundance.com

Video 1: The Man who Grew his Rainforest
Video 2: The Forest Man of Ecuador
Video 3: 7 Hectares Back