Marie Teresa and Monalisa in a new home.

Marie Teresa

Mona Lisa

These two ladies like being together. They have a new hammock. They love to play with the it. No exaggeration to say that they spend many hours each day playing with the hammock. First, chasing each other over-under, which way, during the morning and then midday, Siesta. The most comfortable place in the garden. Today a little special because the hammock is new.

At first a little suspicious but soon accepted. Monkeys always love something new.

The dryer in my recent article on feeding monkeys in crisis times..

Relating to my recent note on providing secure food for monkeys in crisis times. ( it doesn't have to be monkeys). Several people have asked me, what kind of dryer I used. Here is a photograph of my equipment. Sufficient size for a medium size operation with time and temperature control. There are several good ones on the market. In various sizes from small to very large

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A new approach to feeding monkeys in crisis times.

In common with many others, at Cañaote, we are suffering from shortages. Food that is no longer available as well as food we can no longer afford. We were aware of the growing crisis and took steps, months ago to protect the monkey food supply. Our first step was to plant a field with lechosa
This has given us a strong backbone to our monkey meals. It also filled in the gap between the early months of the year and the beginning of the mango season. Lechosa combined with some bought in vegetables.  Added to which great helpings of fresh leaves from our forest. Those of you who know Cañaote will know that we are situated in a fairly remote area, right on the edge of deep mountain forest. Plenty of natural food but it has to be collected. The great number of healthy wild monkeys proves that the forest has everything we need.
The mango season started just as the lechosa field was getting a little thin, although there will be much more later in the year.
Mangoes we have in profusion. We have so many that they lay thick on the ground. In former years they would rot and go to waste. This year, spurred on by our shortages, we have taken large quantities and put them through a drying process. This was an experiment. Would the re-hydrated fruit still be acceptable to the monkeys? I can tell you that is has been a great success. The monkeys love the re-hydrate mangoes. We undertook this experiment on a grand scale and now have sufficient to last until the phase two mango season. Phase two? Cañaote is fortunate to have many different cultivars of mango. They do not all ripen at the same time. As practical consideration,  we need a couple of days to collect, prepare and dry the mangoes in our equipment. Would the re hydrating need extra labour? Answer no. Just one hour in a large bowl with warm water and it is ready to serve.

This shortage has been, in some ways, beneficial inasmuch as it made us think about the monkeys diet, rather than continue with what was largely bought in. Their diet is now more derived from the forest and what we are able to grow for them. Even though it uses some modern food technology. Crisis makes you think outside the box. Our monkeys are still well fed and healthy in spite of the human suffering that surrounds us. Our photograph shows a bowl of hydrating mango slices and a packet of dried mango taken from 
storage
Como muchos otros, en Cañaote, estamos sufriendo de escasez. Los alimentos ya no está disponibles y algunos no podemos costearlos. Estamos conscientes de la creciente crisis y tomamos medidas desde hace meses para proteger el suministro de alimentos para nuestros monos. Nuestro primer paso fue plantar un campo con lechosa que ha sido una fuerte columna vertebral de nuestras comidas. También rellena el hueco entre los primeros meses del año y el comienzo de la temporada de mango. La lechosa combina con algunos comprados en los vegetales sumado a grandes porciones de hojas frescas de nuestro bosque. Aquellos de ustedes que conocen Cañaote sabrán que estamos ubicados en una zona bastante remota, justo en el borde del bosque de montaña. Un montón de comida natural, pero que tiene que ser recogida. El gran número de monos salvajes sanos demuestra que el bosque tiene todo lo que necesitamos.
La temporada de mango mientras que el campo lechosa se iba haciendo más pequeño, aunque habrá mucho más tarde en el año.
Los mangos aparecen en abundancia. Tenemos tantas que cubren el suelo. En años anteriores podían pudrirse y perderse. Este año, impulsado por nuestras carencias, hemos tomado grandes cantidades y puesto a través de un proceso de secado. Este fue un experimento. Sería la re-hidratación de la fruta aceptable para los monos? Yo puedo decir que ha sido un gran éxito. Los monos aman los mangos re-hidratados. Se realizó este experimento a gran escala y ahora tienen suficiente para durar hasta que llegue la fase dos: temporada de mango. La segunda fase? Cañaote tiene la suerte de tener muchas variedades diferentes de mango. Ellos no maduran todos al mismo tiempo. Como cuestión práctica, necesitamos un par de días para recoger, preparar y secar los mangos en nuestro equipo. Sería necesaria más mano de obra para la re-hidratación? Pensamos que no. Tan sólo una hora en un recipiente grande con agua tibia y ya están listo para servir.
Esta escasez ha sido, en cierto modo, beneficiosa en cuanto que nos hizo pensar en la dieta para los monos, en lugar de continuar con lo que se compraba en gran medida. Su dieta ahora se basa en más derivados del bosque y lo que somos capaces de hacer crecer y recoger para ellos. La crisis nos hace pensar fuera de la caja. Nuestros monos están siendo bien alimentados y están saludables a pesar del sufrimiento humano que nos rodea. Nuestra imagen muestra un plato de trozos de mango rehidratados y un paquete de mango seco simplemente tomado de almacenamiento. ¿El futuro? hemos iniciado experimentos con lechosa seca. Posiblemente la vieja tecnología de mango de cuero, etc.
storage.

It¨s a girl. Yaco¨s new baby 20.2.16

Paula daughter of Yaco and Lucio. Born 20th February 2016

Valentine day Visit 2016

I was certain that the wild ones would bring their Valentine greetings to Cañaote. I was not disappointed. This boy and girl moved all the way around the camp, singing at the top of their voices. But they were not alone. I counted twenty five araguatos. Yes all in good voice. Of course our children joined in. Quite Thunderous.

Just as different as you and me.

This chap is a regular visitor Usually alone and always in the late afternoon. We are not sure but we suspect his name is Eric. A male monkey who released himself some years ago. This would explain why he sits above the enclosure of Nineta and Cosito. He is completely quiet. He seems to be happy just to sit there and watch the other children. If it is Eric, he arrived at about the same time as Lorenzo and Nineta. His face is very familiar. No they don´t all look alike. They are just as different as you and me.

Last Evening as the sun was going down.

Last evening, as the sun began to set. The wild ones grouped getting ready to leave for their over night sleeping place. This young lady had spent hours admiring Monito, from a tree above his house. But now turned to go home.