Realizing that I have missed a week of blogging, I am now having a hard time trying to remember what we did two weeks ago. Following the trip to La Mitad del Mundo we had a pretty standard week of classes. Thursday was a bit more intense than usual when my Spanish group and I had to give a 45 minute presentation on recycling to a bunch of 11 year old Ecuadorian kids at a local school. Later that day I also gave a 15 minute presentation on my own about a local holiday. Both presentations went well and I am happy with how quickly my Spanish is coming back. Fast forward to the weekend... we started Saturday off with 2 hours of language classes and being Flag Day here in Ecuador we took the next 2 hours to have a potluck with both plates from here and home as well as some guitar playing and learning some local songs. Finally to Sunday, I am proud to say I spent Sunday in Quito at the La Liga vs. Nacional futbol game. Both teams are from Quito so when they play its definitely a big deal here.
Now onto this last week. The last 5 days have been spent in the Amazon rain forest in and around a city called Tena. A group of 10 volunteers including myself and 4 facilitators all went on a Tech Trip for the Amazonian region. The four and a half hour bus ride out was pretty awesome to start off. For about an hour we had a crystal clear view of the 19,346 foot Cotopaxi volcano covered in snow next to the 18,874 foot Antisana volcano. The next 3 hours were mostly downhill once we crossed over the Andes headed east into the jungle. Later that afternoon we met with a local organization in the area that works with community economic development through the production of cacao, or chocolate. They teach local farmers how to sustainable produce and harvest high quality cacao which is actually some of the best in the Amazon and is sold in Whole Foods in the US as Kallari chocolate. This organization has also helped to develop one of 4 biosphere national parks in Ecuador. A biosphere national park is one that includes an outer ring, a buffer zone and a central protected area unaccessible by the outside world ( the US has over 42). That day we also visited a local wildlife rehabilitation center and got to see many animals from the Amazon that were either kept as pets or found injured and brought in.
The next day we met with another organization in Tena that works with small Quechua communities many in Eco-tourism. We discussed various aspects of their business and business strategy (or lack there of... its exceedingly common here to have communities decided to enter the Eco-tourism market with no business plan at all) and other business practices in the Amazon. Following the presentation we hopped into a truck taxi and drove down along the Rio Napo about an hour to a small Quechua community. The community we visited is called Kamak Maki and specializes in animal rehabilitation. The community consists of about 30 families that all live on the river bank. We helped to work on the construction of a new community center and got a tour of the animals and local plants. They have two resident monkeys that love to climb and play on people as you wander the community. They also have a young ocelot in a cage that was orphaned a few months ago. If you are wondering, yes... I did get to hold the ocelot and yes it was pretty awesome. The Quichua man showing us around the community told me that the ocelots instinctively attack the jugular vein in the neck and to suppress this instinct you have to put your fingers in his mouth like a babies bottle. For lunch the ladies of the community prepared a traditional feast using tilapia wrapped in big leaves and cooked over an open fire. That night we stayed at another local community up the river about an hour and a half. This community is also working in Eco-tourism and had received a grant to build a small cabana style hotel close to the river. This community specializes in hand crafts and cacao production as well.
On Wednesday we started the day off learning about the community based hotel we had stayed at overnight which using a local grant was constructed by and is now run by the local community members. Then we helped to clean up and prune the gardens and walkways in preparation for Carnival this weekend. Later in the day we took a short canoe ride across the river back in Tena to an island wildlife preserve for a talk about forest conservation projects, rainwater collection and composting toilets. The organization giving the talk had created a documentary about local deforestation to be showed to communities here in the Amazon. It was really interesting for me because they had filmed the entire documentary in the local Quechua even though all Quechua here speak Spanish. They also used local community leaders and stories from village elders about the previous existence of the jungle as far as reduced water levels, higher temperatures year round and greater sensibility to the sun.
Thursday we spent most of the day with a start up business here in Ecuador working with Guayusa. Guayusa is a native tree, used like tea, that by traditions the Quechua tribes wake up around 3 30 or 4 and prepare Guayusa. They drink the Guayusa over an open fire and in the hours before sunrise tell ancient stories, discuss meaningful dreams or share songs. Guayusa is a typical drink found in many restaurants in Tena but otherwise does not leave the area. The business we spoke to was started by 3 US guys fresh out of college that have employed upwards of 30 local Ecuadorians and over 100 farmers to produce and sell Guayusa in the United States. After a brief discussion in the morning we headed up into the jungle by taxi to the end of the road where we got out and started hiking in our mud boots. Our hike took us out into the Amazonian jungle through the mud and over a river which we stripped to our underwear to cross. The river had no human contact between its source and this crossing point making it the cleanest and purest water I have seen so far. Our continued assent into the jungle took us to an area of jungle own by a local farmer who knew the location of several Guayusa trees that have been growing since his grandfather was a kid. The trees are dispersed throughout the jungle and we harvested leaves from 3 or 4 before filling up 3 bags weighing 30 pounds each. Our hike back was delayed by an extended crossing of the river (couldn't let it go to waste) and then we were back on track to town after a quick stop to learn how to thatch a roof with palm fronds. Thursday's lunch consisted of a large ice cold glass of Guayusa, an amazing traditionally cooked tilapia and some grub worms (they actually taste like bacon).
Lastly today, we started the day off by giving a 45 minute presentation to 11 year olds at a school outside of Tena. This time we were in groups of two and my partner Sean and I discussed deforestation in the Amazon. We had a few games to play with the kids and they were all very interactive. We had a lot of fun and got to test out a game about deforestation for the organization we met with on Wednesday. Immediately after the presentation it began to rain...and proceeded to rain about 5 inches in the next hour. We were stuck at the school during the rain storm and ended up playing soccer and basketball under a covered area until our bus showed up to take us back to Tena and then to Quito. Once I got home and had some time to unwind I followed my host family next door to our grandmother's house for my uncle's birthday party. We had cow tongue (actually really good) and a great three layer strawberry cake.
This weekend is Carnival which consists of lots of water fights and foam in a can. I am looking forward to spending some time here in Tumbaco as well as going down to Rio Bamba at the base of Volcan Chimborazo on Monday. I hope this post finds you all well!
Now onto this last week. The last 5 days have been spent in the Amazon rain forest in and around a city called Tena. A group of 10 volunteers including myself and 4 facilitators all went on a Tech Trip for the Amazonian region. The four and a half hour bus ride out was pretty awesome to start off. For about an hour we had a crystal clear view of the 19,346 foot Cotopaxi volcano covered in snow next to the 18,874 foot Antisana volcano. The next 3 hours were mostly downhill once we crossed over the Andes headed east into the jungle. Later that afternoon we met with a local organization in the area that works with community economic development through the production of cacao, or chocolate. They teach local farmers how to sustainable produce and harvest high quality cacao which is actually some of the best in the Amazon and is sold in Whole Foods in the US as Kallari chocolate. This organization has also helped to develop one of 4 biosphere national parks in Ecuador. A biosphere national park is one that includes an outer ring, a buffer zone and a central protected area unaccessible by the outside world ( the US has over 42). That day we also visited a local wildlife rehabilitation center and got to see many animals from the Amazon that were either kept as pets or found injured and brought in.
The next day we met with another organization in Tena that works with small Quechua communities many in Eco-tourism. We discussed various aspects of their business and business strategy (or lack there of... its exceedingly common here to have communities decided to enter the Eco-tourism market with no business plan at all) and other business practices in the Amazon. Following the presentation we hopped into a truck taxi and drove down along the Rio Napo about an hour to a small Quechua community. The community we visited is called Kamak Maki and specializes in animal rehabilitation. The community consists of about 30 families that all live on the river bank. We helped to work on the construction of a new community center and got a tour of the animals and local plants. They have two resident monkeys that love to climb and play on people as you wander the community. They also have a young ocelot in a cage that was orphaned a few months ago. If you are wondering, yes... I did get to hold the ocelot and yes it was pretty awesome. The Quichua man showing us around the community told me that the ocelots instinctively attack the jugular vein in the neck and to suppress this instinct you have to put your fingers in his mouth like a babies bottle. For lunch the ladies of the community prepared a traditional feast using tilapia wrapped in big leaves and cooked over an open fire. That night we stayed at another local community up the river about an hour and a half. This community is also working in Eco-tourism and had received a grant to build a small cabana style hotel close to the river. This community specializes in hand crafts and cacao production as well.
Thursday we spent most of the day with a start up business here in Ecuador working with Guayusa. Guayusa is a native tree, used like tea, that by traditions the Quechua tribes wake up around 3 30 or 4 and prepare Guayusa. They drink the Guayusa over an open fire and in the hours before sunrise tell ancient stories, discuss meaningful dreams or share songs. Guayusa is a typical drink found in many restaurants in Tena but otherwise does not leave the area. The business we spoke to was started by 3 US guys fresh out of college that have employed upwards of 30 local Ecuadorians and over 100 farmers to produce and sell Guayusa in the United States. After a brief discussion in the morning we headed up into the jungle by taxi to the end of the road where we got out and started hiking in our mud boots. Our hike took us out into the Amazonian jungle through the mud and over a river which we stripped to our underwear to cross. The river had no human contact between its source and this crossing point making it the cleanest and purest water I have seen so far. Our continued assent into the jungle took us to an area of jungle own by a local farmer who knew the location of several Guayusa trees that have been growing since his grandfather was a kid. The trees are dispersed throughout the jungle and we harvested leaves from 3 or 4 before filling up 3 bags weighing 30 pounds each. Our hike back was delayed by an extended crossing of the river (couldn't let it go to waste) and then we were back on track to town after a quick stop to learn how to thatch a roof with palm fronds. Thursday's lunch consisted of a large ice cold glass of Guayusa, an amazing traditionally cooked tilapia and some grub worms (they actually taste like bacon).
Lastly today, we started the day off by giving a 45 minute presentation to 11 year olds at a school outside of Tena. This time we were in groups of two and my partner Sean and I discussed deforestation in the Amazon. We had a few games to play with the kids and they were all very interactive. We had a lot of fun and got to test out a game about deforestation for the organization we met with on Wednesday. Immediately after the presentation it began to rain...and proceeded to rain about 5 inches in the next hour. We were stuck at the school during the rain storm and ended up playing soccer and basketball under a covered area until our bus showed up to take us back to Tena and then to Quito. Once I got home and had some time to unwind I followed my host family next door to our grandmother's house for my uncle's birthday party. We had cow tongue (actually really good) and a great three layer strawberry cake.
This weekend is Carnival which consists of lots of water fights and foam in a can. I am looking forward to spending some time here in Tumbaco as well as going down to Rio Bamba at the base of Volcan Chimborazo on Monday. I hope this post finds you all well!
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