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Dan Bryant experiences of a student from Virginia University in Baldalupaxi

r. Maximiliano Moreno y Señorita Margarita, ¡Hola! Soy yo, Daniel, el estudiante del otro día. Muchas gracias otra vez por las entrevistas fascinantes, y por ayudarme en conocer el Señor Baltazar de la comunidad Balda Lupaxi. Era una visita muy interesante e importante para mí. Me afectó mucho, y por eso, escribí muchas cosas en mi cuaderno. También, cuando yo estaba con ustedes y en la comunidad, otra vez me di cuenta de que es importante compartir las experiencias y el conocimiento. Por lo tanto, quiero compartir mis experiencias para que puedan ayudar a la comunidad. Unas escrituras sobre la visita:- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -I was with Baltazar Paza for only twenty hours, but it was a time I will never forget. I was traveling southward through the Ecuadorian Andes, researching the use of Internet technology and how it might be applied to improve communities. For this reason, I hoped to know a rural community in the Chimborazo province. Baltazar made that possible...
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Ecotrackers online in English Jessi Summers acupuncture without borders

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Natalia Tomalak The valuable work of our volunteers with the Shuar Indians

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Natalia Tomalak a poland student of ecoturism with the Shwar Chaman in the National Park Sangay My experience with Shuar Shaman and natural medicine took place in Santa Ines between 18th and 25th of January. I stayed with a family of Rafael Shakay whose grandfather was a well known Shaman. Rafael himself is not a Shaman but has knowledge of the medicinal plants and shamanic rituals. There are other members of his family - his uncles that are Shamans. The Shaman in Santa Ines is a young man, that is for shamans, at 42 years old. He lived and practiced shamanism in Tena for many years. Now he just returned to Santa Ines and does not have his sacred place yet. He was chosen to become a Shaman by his father-shaman when he was 5 years old. As he was interested in that, old Shuar shamans started to teach him the techniques, rituals and medicinal plants. He needed 12 years to purify his body by using a special diet, not having relationships with women and many others rest...
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Jessica Dunnin learanig Spanish and Medicine with Ecotrackers

I spent three weeks with Ecotrackers and during this time I had many fantastic experiences was able to see parts of Ecuador not usually accessible to tourists. I am a final year medical student from New Zealand and I wanted to spend part of my elective in a spanish speaking country, to learn some spanish at the same time as learning medicine. I discovered Ecotrackers via the internet and after reading a good review of it I decided to give them a try. The organisation was very prompt in replying to all of my emails and said they could arrange pretty much whatever I wanted to do. The Ecotrackers organisation was founded by a doctor, and I was able to work directly with him which was fantastic. The organistion is family run and very laid back about organisational details, which I found difficult initially, but in fact I had no problems at all once I relaxed into Ecuadorian time! They more than made up for this by welcoming me into the family, taking me to different places and helping me t...
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Graham Marsh in Balda Lupaxi

Right before leaving for Quito I asked Baltazar what problems Quinoa, as a product, had experienced in the past. How strange, I thought, that the main focus of my week here in the Chimborazo community of Balda Lupaxi had been on a crop that I had previously never seen or heard of. Baltazar, the local director of the community, replied that in the past the nutritional value of Quinoa was not fully appreciated, and therefore not reflected in its value on the market. The lack of demand in Ecuador , as well as high processing costs, meant that many farmers had little interest in growing the plant. Quinoa (Quinua in Spanish, Kinoa in Quechua) is a cereal that grows almost solely in the Andes of Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru . These days it is well known for its great nutritional value and especially high amounts of protein, although in the past the Incas were well aware of its strengths. Unfortunately so were the Spanish conquistors, who saw Quinoa as the source of the power of...
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¿Y si me hubiera casado? Por Melinda Savić Graduada en español en la Universidad de Michigan y con conocimientos de Inglés, francés y bosnio-yugoeslavo, escribió este relato en español sobre su primera semana entre indígenas de los Andes, con un guión de adaptación a radio y video en tres idiomas Martes, el 2 de octubre 2007, las 11:30 de la mañana, Terminal Terrestre, Quito, Ecuador, yo buscando un bus para Balda Lupaxi, un lugar desconocido en la Sierra ecuatoriana, un lugar desconocido para mí al menos. Chequeando los buses para Cuenca porque se supone que sigo la misma ruta. ¡Bingo! El que vende los boletos dice que sí conoce. ¡Chévere! Compro el pasaje y voy hacía donde el bus,… Parece que no soy la única que no conoce el lugar; el chofer no tiene ni idea a donde voy,…Regresa a la taquilla y se lo pregunta al hombre que vende los tickets. “¡Ah ya! Bien, bien” y me dice que suba al bus yo pues, toda contenta: “¡Por fin!” Pronto, dejamos Quito, o eso creo, pues e...
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Joanna Animashaun, Sophie Brown, Naomi Landau with the Tsachila indigenous

Tsachilla Community- Santo Domingo de Los Colorados We are a group of three friends from London, England, travelling independently around South America. Our first weeks placement volunteering with Ecotrackers, involved staying with a Shaman and his family in the Tsachilla village near the town of Santa Domingo, four hours west of Quito. These are our thoughts on our stay… Work: Alfonso´s work as a Shaman was his main employment, supporting the family. From what we saw there was a lot of competition within the community for income from tourism and the services of Shamans. It appeared to us that this may have been the main form of income for the community, although we are not sure how much income came from farming and selling produce. One of the earliest observations we had was how relaxed the lifestyle was, this may in part be due to our experiences in the West where employment is more regimented, but daily work in the village seemed a little lacking once basic needs are met! ...
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Ingrid Cosma from Rumenia and UK with the Tzachials

Two weeks in Tsachilla My stay in Chiguilpe has been a mixture of adventure, learning, working with the community, and exploring new dimensions. Oral Hygiene talk to school kids The talk was aimed at increasing Oral Hygiene awareness amongst kids studying at the local school. With the fantastic help from one of the dentists in Santo Domingo, Dr Luis Sanchez, who brought instruments from his practice, the talk was followed by a session of removing badly decayed milk teeth for those kids who needed it. The event was generously supported by who promptly donated boxes of toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoos and conditioners for the kids. Very warm thanks to all who contributed, and I hold high hopes that this little session will have some long term positive effects on the health awareness of the village kids. Medicinal plants There is a wealth of knowledge in the community regarding the curative merits of various plants. Whilst even the ubiquitous yucca and cocoa were interesting to my untra...
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