The Community of Los Limites Helps Extinguish a Deadly Fire

If you ever wonder why it is important to work with communities near the forests where cotton-top tamarins live, here is an excellent example of why we need their help and support.  When a bus that caught on fire at the side of the road quickly spread through a cattle pasture that was near the forest of Ceibal where Proyecto Titi has worked since 1997, it was the community of Los Limites that sprang into action.  They alerted Proyecto Titi as well as the managers of Ceibal that a fire was spreading quickly.   With only water that could be carried on their backs and no real resources to fight a fire, the community gathered together to prevent the fire from spreading to the forest.  It was an amazing act of bravery and generosity, as Los Límites has no running water.  They must collect rain water or purchase all their drinking water and store it in tanks in their community.  Right now, the dry season has depleted most communities' water sources and there is a national water crisis in Colombia.   But our friends in Los Límites sacrificed what little water they had to keep the forest and their community safe from fire.  They carried as much water as they could on their backs, and worked to prevent the fire from reaching the forest and their community until the fire fighters arrived.  If they had not made this valiant effort to stop the fire from reaching the forest before the arrival of the fire fighters, we would be sharing a very different story. In honor of their continued commitment and dedication to protecting the forest, we will be investing in fire prevention training and providing Los Limites with more resources.   Stay tuned for more news as we help Los Limites and recognize their significant contribution to protecting the forest for cotton-top tamarins!