Our Story: The Journey Behind Manu Rainforest Peru

My mother, TERESA CONDORI, migrated to the jungle with her parents when she was 9 years old from the Cusco region. Her parents were farmers. Her father was blind so her mother was in charge both at home and working hard every day to survive in the jungle of Manu. My father, SABINO ROBLES, went to the jungle when he was 17 with the Peruvian army. He was so impressed with the natural wonder he found there that he decided to stay. He also worked as a park ranger for Manu National Park in the first years of the park's founding, from 1973. Then he met and married Teresa, my mother. From this marriage they had 6 sons and 3 daughters, ourselves. My mother and my father were excellent farmers. They cultivated, rice, cassava, banana, papaya, beans, sweet potatoes, and many other fruits, etc. Although they were successful at growing so many products, there was no market, so the products had no monetary value. Remote Manu was a region without access, and away from the big cities.

By 2000 agriculture had become more important as a source of income. Cusco became a key market for bananas and, therefore, the local people in Manu dedicated more resources to growing this crop. It became a very important source of income for families. In 2003 my father died from a kidney problem. At the time, my brothers (including the eldest, Saul) and I were still very young. We had to take on the responsibilities of my family. We also became dedicated to growing bananas, our only source of income and work. Five years after high school we had saved some money and I came to Cusco to study for the first time. Despite having to overcome many difficulties I began to study to become an official tour guide.

In 2006 we were ready for tourism. We started traveling with really small groups of just one or two passengers at a time. We had loads of will and enthusiasm. We created a genuine united family business. Back then we only slept in tents. After a few years of working, we decided to build our own lodgings.

Today our family business is very stable. We provide work to many local people in addition to my family. We continue to be very committed. Each of us work together as a team. We don't pretend to be the best! But we want to be! We work hard, and we're getting there!

Today we have our own river boats and our own ground transport. We have our own lodgings, which we have constructed ourselves. And most importantly we have a team of permanent guides, and personnel in each area (my family!).