Notre expérience d´écotourisme avec Ecotracker Network

Written by LAURENT MAILLET

par Laurent Maillet & Manuela Gauvrit á Estero de Platano 26 sept-1 oct. 2005 Après une courte nuit passée dans le car, une arrivée très matinale à Atacames et un trajet sur le toit d´une « ranchera » (sorte de bus en bois sans fenêtre) de 2 heures, nous voila arrivés à Estero de Platano ; « pueblo » situé sur la côte Pacifique qui compte environ 400 habitants. Dès notre arrivée, nous fûmes conviés à la remise des diplômes de l´école. Puis nous fûmes accueillis par Fermin et sa petite famille, composée de sa femme Elsa, de leurs 5 filles et du petit dernier Willy. Leur maison en bois est idéalement placée en bord de mer, entre la rivière, justement nommée Estero de Platano et la forêt de type totalement différent de nos arbres à feuilles caduques. Durant ces 5 jours, nos activités furent diverses et variées, aussi bien enrichissantes que divertissantes. Nous avions également à cœur d´effectuer quelque chose d´utile ; en compagnie de Fermin, Elsa et Andrew (un volontaire américain) nous avons nettoyé la plage en face de chez eux. En une grosse matinée de boulot, nous avons récolté les nombreux morceaux de bois et plastiques répartis sur la plage. Nous les avons rassemblés en différents talus qui furent par la suite brûlés. Il faut savoir que là-bas ils ont tendance à reproduire les mêmes erreurs que nos sociétés occidentales, soit ils brûlent le plastique, soit ils le jettent au milieu de la nature, faute de mieux. Ils tentent tant bien que mal de s´organiser en comité afin de faire évoluer et améliorer la vie au village. Nous avons notamment assisté à une réunion ayant pour ordre du jour principal la collecte de la « basura » (poubelle). Alternativement, des volontaires se relaient, 2 fois par semaine pour collecter les poubelles soit à l´aide d´un bourrin et d´une petite remorque soit en pick-up pour les mieux lotis. Suite à un manque récurrent de volontaire, le comité a décidé d´aller à Muisne, demander une aide au canton afin d´obtenir de l´argent pour payer la personne en charge du ramassage des ordures. Soucieux de leur environnement, ils ont également décidé de trier les déchets et de distinguer les déchets organiques de ceux plastiques. Notre petite participation fut de peindre sur 48 sacs blancs « plastico » et sur 42 sacs noirs « organica ». Le reste de notre temps fut employé à de longues balades sur la plage, à des jeux (football, marelle, tressage) avec les enfants, au ramassage de coquillages (que nous avons dégusté le soir même), aux baignades dans le Pacifique (beaucoup plus chaud que l´Atlantique) et à la cueillette de fruits. Avec les enfants, nous grignotions entre les repas les fruits cueillis dans les arbres aux alentours de la maison (Mandarines, Mangues pas toujours mûres, « Guava machete », Pamplemousse, Canne a sucre…etc.). Fermin nous a également emmené faire le tour des différents arbres (souvent fruitiers) qui poussent dans les alentours, nombreux d´entre eux sont peu connus en Europe (« Yuca, Mate, Toquilla, Guanabana, Guava, Aguacate, Papaya, Coco, Arbol de Cafe, de Cacao »). Avec d´autres villageois, ils entretiennent aussi un jardin ou ils font pousser environ 32 variétés de plantes (médicinales, aromatiques et comestibles) et où ils effectuent des greffes d´arbres. Finalement, cette expérience fut formidable, nous ne sommes pas prêts de l´oublier ainsi que les personnes que nous avons côtoyées pendant cette courte semaine. Nous espérons que nous vous avons donne envie d´y aller, en ce qui nous concerne, nous sommes repartis pour de nouvelles aventures en communautés avec Ecotrackers !

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Working with the people in la Chimba by Frederic Lanier

Written by Frederic Lanier

Après un passage écourté parmi les indigènes tsachilas, nous avons atterri un peu par hasard sur la côte pacifique dans le petit village de pêcheur d'Estero de Platano. Notre mission consistait à établir les possibilités de développement d'un projet écotouristique.

A la descente du bus et après la rapide traversée du pueblo décrépi, nous nous sommes dit que la question serait rapidement réglée !... Puis nous avons découvert la maison d'Elsa, certes prête à s'écrouler, avec peu d'électricité et sans eau courante mais tellement pleine de vie avec ses 6 enfants extraordinaires ! Malgré le degré important de pauvreté, nous avons découvert une famille unie et heureuse et ainsi eu la chance de partager leur quotidien. Il nous aurait fallu rester un peu plus de temps pour atteindre leur efficacité lors de la lessive à la rivière ou encore des déplacements à cheval pour aller chercher de l'eau douce mais nous nous sommes tout de même débrouillés !

Parallèlement, nous avons fait la connaissance d'habitants chaleureux, prêts à faire des efforts pour développer leur communauté. Notre mission a donc commencé par un nettoyage de la plage avec tous les villageois et s'est terminé par une réunion très officielle. Considérés comme des "envoyés de Quito" pleins de solutions, nous avons donc transmis la bonne parole, tels des prophètes, et tout le monde s'est motivé ! Entre temps, nous avons aussi construit, à la pioche et à la machette, un sentier menant au sommet d'une colline permettant de voir passer les baleines.

Ainsi, contrairement à nos premiers impressions, nous avons pu amorcé plusieurs projets écotouristiques prometteurs comme une sortie-expérience de la pêche au poulpe (on ne rit pas !), un sentier découverte des arbres fruitiers tropicaux (avec dégustation sur place), la visite de l'atelier d'artisanat ou encore des sorties en mer pour pêcher ou observer les baleines. Mais il reste encore tout à faire pour les prochains volontaires qui devront désormais réaliser tous ces beaux projets !

Fred et Flo, juillet 2006

http://voyados.free.fr

Comentarios al trabajo de Emma Haworth y su " evaluation of Ecotrackers volunteer work"

Written by Emma Haworth Estero de Plátano is a small village on the north coast of Ecuador and is a place with much natural beauty. The village is situated on a picturesque beach with cliffs of rainforest that descend right down to the sea and rock pools that teem with sea life. There are whales, turtles, vultures, crabs and great sea food. Life in the village is pretty basic, with limited electricity, no running water and no telephones. People in the village are friendly and it didn´t take much time to feel comfortable with our host family and to get to know Elsa and her six beautiful children.
We intended to stay in Estero for about 3-4 weeks before volunteering in another community. However, one week in and we were frustrated with how things were going. In the short time we had spent in Estero, we had learnt a lot about the rewards and challenges of volunteering in Ecotrackers´ communities. We think it is important to talk about the challenges of volunteering as well as the rewards. So here is the story of some of our challenges.
There is an "association" of about four families in Estero who work hard with Ecotrackers on projects and who host volunteers. However, we got the impression fairly early on that the rest of the community was quite indifferent to our presence. Although people were friendly, no one talked about Ecotrackers´ projects or seemed to know much about them when we asked. More than this, Elsa told us that there were some tensions between her family and another family in the community and we wondered if this had anything to do with Elsa´s involvement with Ecotrackers.
Overall, we felt that if we were short term volunteers going to Estero we would have enough to do for a week. You can teach English in the local school, help clean the beach of driftwood and rubbish, water the village plant nursery, build signs for the road and help the family with the day to day running of the household. All of these things we did and found very rewarding, but for a volunteer staying longer we thought it would be frustrating. The purpose and aims of Ecotrackers pojects were not clear and there wasn´t much structure, organisation or continuation in the work being done in the community. Also, it became apparent that when volunteers were in Estero some members of the community felt they could sit back and let them do the work. For example, the head teacher of the school failed to turn up to classes for two days after he knew we were available to teach English. Elsa also said that the community doesn´t bother to clean the beach because they wait for volunteers to come and do it. There were also a number of mixed messages about what had and had not happened in relation to Ecotrackers projects, and what the community knew and did not know. It was hard to establish the truth about these things. It was therefore hard to know how to take things forward. It was also hard to see how development would happen in Estero and whether the work we did would make a difference.
We decided the best thing to do was to have a reunion with the community and speak to them directly. Luckily we had the support of one of the prominent members of the community who arranged a reunion. It was fairly daunting sitting in front of 30 or more strangers and raising these issues with them. We started by mentioning the lack of support for community projects and what seemed like a lack of information from Ecotrackers. We then went on to talk about the opportunities for Ecotourism. We also asked for their feedback on Ecotrackers´ projects, as we were curious to know what the community thought of them and the volunteers. A few people made comments but only a small number. One woman commented that volunteers had stayed in her house for a few days but she had no idea what work they had done. From this we realised that it might not be clear to community members who are volunteers and who are eco-tourists.
Over the course of the reunion, people seemed to be interested in what we had to say and a few heads were nodding. At the end of the meeting we sat down with the key members of the community to write down all the projects happening in Estero. When we left, we felt the meeting had been successful and were hopeful about some change. However, Elsa feared that whilst the community seemed positive in the reunion, she knew from past experience that often nothing changed. Hearing this, we felt a bit overwhelmed by the difficulties we faced. We finally decided the best thing to do would be to return to Quito to discuss things with Ecotrackers.
It was sad saying goodbye to Elsa and the kids but we knew we would return. Before we left we made a record of all the issues in the community we thought affected the progress of Ecotrackers´ projects and took with us the list of current projects we had made at the reunion. Back in Quito we met with the Director of Ecotrackers, Max, and the Director of Projects, Andy, who were grateful for our feedback and at the same time not too surprised by it. They acknowledged the need to give more information and support to the community. They told us about of the history and culture of Estero, which helped us to understand some of the reactions of the community to volunteer projects. They also agreed to support us in trying to tackle some of the issues through re-informing the community about Ecotrackers, building more structure into plans for Ecotrackers´ projects, making provisions for a community fund and most importantly holding another reunion with the community to talk about all of this.
Back in Estero we gave the village director invitations to the reunion for each member of the community and gave some out our ourselves. The day of the reunion arrived and a large number of people were present. Max and Andy both attended and their presence was appreciated by the community. A number of things were discussed including attitudes towards change and development, what Ecotrackers aims to do and how, the potential for ecotourism and the suggestion of a community fund. Interestingly the community fund idea was rejected because the association of families currently working with Ecotrackers felt that they would be doing all the work but the community would all benefit from it. Also, although we had made plans for a step by step process to increase community involvement in the projects, in the end it was decided that the members of the community who wanted to work with Ecotrackers would need to join with the association of families on their own initiative.
The moral of this story is that you can´t always make changes in communities that you think are best. You can not assume or anticipate what a community will want and you have to be ready to listen to them. Development will never happen fast and members of the community may need time and some faith that working with an NGO will benefit them. The best that we can do is to understand how a community operates, to inform them as best we can, make offers and suggestions and then observe their willingness to work with us. However, one of the questions we are left with is how to help a community to develop without imposing some of the things that will lead to development such as structure, organisation and planning that may not be a part of a their culture?


Estero de Plátano is a small village on the north coast of Ecuador and is a place with much natural beauty. The village is situated on a picturesque beach with cliffs of rainforest that descend right down to the sea and rock pools that teem with sea life. There are whales, turtles, vultures, crabs and great sea food. Life in the village is pretty basic, with limited electricity, no running water and no telephones. People in the village are friendly and it didn´t take much time to feel comfortable with our host family and to get to know Elsa and her six beautiful children.
We intended to stay in Estero for about 3-4 weeks before volunteering in another community. However, one week in and we were frustrated with how things were going. In the short time we had spent in Estero, we had learnt a lot about the rewards and challenges of volunteering in Ecotrackers´ communities. We think it is important to talk about the challenges of volunteering as well as the rewards. So here is the story of some of our challenges.
There is an "association" of about four families in Estero who work hard with Ecotrackers on projects and who host volunteers. However, we got the impression fairly early on that the rest of the community was quite indifferent to our presence. Although people were friendly, no one talked about Ecotrackers´ projects or seemed to know much about them when we asked. More than this, Elsa told us that there were some tensions between her family and another family in the community and we wondered if this had anything to do with Elsa´s involvement with Ecotrackers.
Overall, we felt that if we were short term volunteers going to Estero we would have enough to do for a week. You can teach English in the local school, help clean the beach of driftwood and rubbish, water the village plant nursery, build signs for the road and help the family with the day to day running of the household. All of these things we did and found very rewarding, but for a volunteer staying longer we thought it would be frustrating. The purpose and aims of Ecotrackers pojects were not clear and there wasn´t much structure, organisation or continuation in the work being done in the community. Also, it became apparent that when volunteers were in Estero some members of the community felt they could sit back and let them do the work. For example, the head teacher of the school failed to turn up to classes for two days after he knew we were available to teach English. Elsa also said that the community doesn´t bother to clean the beach because they wait for volunteers to come and do it. There were also a number of mixed messages about what had and had not happened in relation to Ecotrackers projects, and what the community knew and did not know. It was hard to establish the truth about these things. It was therefore hard to know how to take things forward. It was also hard to see how development would happen in Estero and whether the work we did would make a difference.
We decided the best thing to do was to have a reunion with the community and speak to them directly. Luckily we had the support of one of the prominent members of the community who arranged a reunion. It was fairly daunting sitting in front of 30 or more strangers and raising these issues with them. We started by mentioning the lack of support for community projects and what seemed like a lack of information from Ecotrackers. We then went on to talk about the opportunities for Ecotourism. We also asked for their feedback on Ecotrackers´ projects, as we were curious to know what the community thought of them and the volunteers. A few people made comments but only a small number. One woman commented that volunteers had stayed in her house for a few days but she had no idea what work they had done. From this we realised that it might not be clear to community members who are volunteers and who are eco-tourists.
Over the course of the reunion, people seemed to be interested in what we had to say and a few heads were nodding. At the end of the meeting we sat down with the key members of the community to write down all the projects happening in Estero. When we left, we felt the meeting had been successful and were hopeful about some change. However, Elsa feared that whilst the community seemed positive in the reunion, she knew from past experience that often nothing changed. Hearing this, we felt a bit overwhelmed by the difficulties we faced. We finally decided the best thing to do would be to return to Quito to discuss things with Ecotrackers.
It was sad saying goodbye to Elsa and the kids but we knew we would return. Before we left we made a record of all the issues in the community we thought affected the progress of Ecotrackers´ projects and took with us the list of current projects we had made at the reunion. Back in Quito we met with the Director of Ecotrackers, Max, and the Director of Projects, Andy, who were grateful for our feedback and at the same time not too surprised by it. They acknowledged the need to give more information and support to the community. They told us about of the history and culture of Estero, which helped us to understand some of the reactions of the community to volunteer projects. They also agreed to support us in trying to tackle some of the issues through re-informing the community about Ecotrackers, building more structure into plans for Ecotrackers´ projects, making provisions for a community fund and most importantly holding another reunion with the community to talk about all of this.
Back in Estero we gave the village director invitations to the reunion for each member of the community and gave some out our ourselves. The day of the reunion arrived and a large number of people were present. Max and Andy both attended and their presence was appreciated by the community. A number of things were discussed including attitudes towards change and development, what Ecotrackers aims to do and how, the potential for ecotourism and the suggestion of a community fund. Interestingly the community fund idea was rejected because the association of families currently working with Ecotrackers felt that they would be doing all the work but the community would all benefit from it. Also, although we had made plans for a step by step process to increase community involvement in the projects, in the end it was decided that the members of the community who wanted to work with Ecotrackers would need to join with the association of families on their own initiative.
The moral of this story is that you can´t always make changes in communities that you think are best. You can not assume or anticipate what a community will want and you have to be ready to listen to them. Development will never happen fast and members of the community may need time and some faith that working with an NGO will benefit them. The best that we can do is to understand how a community operates, to inform them as best we can, make offers and suggestions and then observe their willingness to work with us. However, one of the questions we are left with is how to help a community to develop without imposing some of the things that will lead to development such as structure, organisation and planning that may not be a part of a their culture?
COMENTARIO DE ECOTRACKERS

Los comentarios de Emma y Jashim fueron muy importantes para la Fundación. Su opinión forzó cambios en el trabajo de Ecotrackers en las comundades y en su estructura interior. En los 2 útimos años, la fundación fue controlada de manera total por el director extranajero de proyectos, quedando relegados el presidente y toda la directiva nacional. Los criterios de Emma y Jashim sirvieron para que los directivos ecuatorianos de Ecotrackers retomaran sus funciones y el director de proyectos y sus colaboradores salieran. Cuando los voluntarios extrajeros controlaron la fundación, el objetivo fue tener mas dinero de los voluntarios y estudiantes, no lo que los voluntarios podían hacer para cambiar la realidad y menos lo que los ecuatorianos podían hacer por sí mismos, era mas importante lo que podían hacer los extanjeros con la "ayuda de los ecuatorianos".
Se volvió una repetición de los procesos de conquista pacífica, en que los ecuatorianos hacen y los extranjeros piensan. Igual a lo que se llevó a cabo con la iglesia católica, los conquistadores o comerciantes e industriales de los imperios occidentales en la historia de explotación de América Latina. Así por ejemplo nos convertimos en proveedores de mano de obra barata, profesores baratos, guias locales baratos para las grandes compañías de voluntariado internacional, que comenzaron a proveernos de voluntarios, ellas ganaban mucho dinero de los voluntarios y estudiantes con espíritu de compasión y solidaridad con los países, las personas, las mujeres, o niños pobres o la naturaleza en destrucción, mientras en las comunidades se pagaba 8 dolares diarios por 3 comidas al día y el trabajo de los tutores.
Hoy Ecotrackers volvió a su modo de trabajar, esto es que los voluntarios y estudiantes no pagan a ningun intermediario, sino directamente a los que trabajamos y cobramos una cantidad de dinero por el trabajo que hacemos y cuanto ganamos es conocido por las comunidades y todo el mundo.

The Esmeraldas by Maya Mahanaymi

Day 1- I get to Tonchigue in the evening. A woman with a little boy comes to meet me. We go to their house and it seems nice enough. After my experience in the jungle, I declare that I’m a vegetarian. They don’t understand how it’s possible not to eat meat, but I’m glad when I’m served rice with broccoli, instead of chicken with feathers…

Day 2- Here, in this place of all places, I found love! His name is Jerico and he is two years old. He is also blind, but he showed me a new world… He is the grandson of Maria (the woman I met the day before) but he is living with her and her husband. The husband – Wilfrido, is the one that is suppose to take me on the trip. But he comes home only later this day, so today we go to a beach near by, in another town called Atacames. The beach is not very beautiful and stinks from fish, but the waves here are huge and the company is good, so I’m having fun…

Day 3- Wilfrido came home and we start our journey. Today is the local election, so we start in Muisne, where they all have to vote. The elections here are a serious business. Every one has to vote, and there are also some laws about staying at home the night before, not drinking two days before… it’s interesting. Muisne is a nice little town, where everyone knows everyone. Maria was brought up here, and all the people are so nice to us. We also go to see the beach. It’s very beautiful, but I’m not in the mood for swimming. From Muisne we continue to Bunche. This is the town where Wilfrido was brought up in, and we live in his mom’s house. It’s a tiny little town, all the houses are from bamboo, and all the people are so nice! They all are very curious about me, and also about Jerico. They want to learn everything they can- English and Hebrew, and about how we live in Israel…

Day 4- Today I’m going with another friend of the family to see the cacao plantations. The plantations are located above the town, and it’s very beautiful up here. The man I’m going with is very quiet, and with my little Spanish the only conversation we develop is “um..” and “aha..” I hoped we would work in the plantations, but after a couple of hour’s trip we go back to the house.

Day 5- Like most of the peripheral areas here in Ecuador, also in Bunche there is no running water, except for the river. Here in Bunche the river is salt, but there are some smaller rivers that run from the mountains to the main river, and they are with fresh water. From there the people in Bunche get their drinking, cooking and bathing water, and there they wash their clothes. Today we take the canoe and ride up to one of those smaller rivers. We take with us some food for later, and we settle there… Wilfrido is in charge of filling contains with water, and also of lighting up a fire to heat the food on. Maria is in charge of washing the clothes. Jerico sings and laughs and puts a smile on everyone’s faces. And me… well I do what I’m best at- taking photos.
In a short walk in the area Wilfrido shows me some other cacao trees, mango trees, sugar canes, pineapple plants, papaya, and some other sorts… The land here is so rich, and I wonder how yet so poor.

Day 6- I go with Wilfrido to the cacao plantation again, to work there in planting seedlings. But when we get there it turns out the man that is in charge of the planting, is not there. So we turn the way we came and go back to the house. Maria went to Muisne today, to buy some things, and Jerico is in the local kinder garden. When we come back I go to visit him, and we both are glad to see each other. Later this day we have a nice walk to the beach in Bunche.

Day 7- Today is the ’day of the dead’. Something like the local version of Halloween. All people go to the graves of their loved ones to colour them white and tidy up there. The people are also dressed in white. In the evening it’s traditional to have big fiestas and go out and dance. I’ve never understood the connection between the dead and the celebrations… but who I’m I to say. Wilfrido’s dad is buried in Cabo San-Francisco, and we go there to contribute our share of the tradition. It’s interesting, and I also meet two other volunteers there, and finally get to speak some English! It has gotten to that that I even dream in Spanish, although I still don’t understand what exactly I’m saying in these dreams…

Day 8- With a lot of sorrow I say goodbye to Maria and Jerico, and go with Wilfrido to the other family I’ll stay at. They are an older couple that lives in the jungle in the area of Esmeraldas. The reservation is called ‘Machi Cindul’. It’s not possible to get with a car to where they live, so we get to the farthest place a car reaches, and then go by foot another five or six km to their house. The community is called Tigrilla, and lives next to a river. In the Secoya community, where I was two weeks before, the only way to get from one place to another is in a canoe. But here the river is smaller, and the jungle is less dense, so the easiest and most common way to get to places is by horses. I love horses, and I looked forward to ride. I learn that the man’s name is Segundo, and their grandson that is visiting them is called Andy (I don’t remember the women’s name…). They seemed very nice, but Segundo was talking to fast, and I had some trouble understanding him. The wife wasn’t talking much, and the one I had most contact with was Andy. After we had lunch, we went to work in the cacao plantation they have next to their house. Segundo picked the good cacao fruits of the trees, Andy opened them in half with his machete (a big knife), and I emptied the seeds into a bucket. We went from tree to tree, till we had two buckets full of cacao seeds. After the work I wanted to bathe in the river, but the mission seemed a bit complicated when every couple of minutes people rode by on their horses, and Andy found exactly this moment to wash his horse in the river. Well not much bathing today, but I can live with that…

After dinner, I went on a horseback riding tour with Andy. Or, truth to be told, I was riding, and he was walking next to me. When we got to a place where we had to cross the river in a deep spot Andy jumped on the back of the horse like it’s the easiest thing to do, and we rode over. For some reason, no matter how much I was kicking the horse, he would go over only to trot (slow running) and never galloping. On the way back to their home, Andy got on the back again, and after a few kicks I saw the horse could indeed gallop… so fun!

There is no electricity here, so the evening is very dark, and we go to sleep early.

Day 9- Segundo went to the closest town to sell the cacao we raised yesterday, and to buy some food. I went with Andy and another friend of him to work with the horses. We go to a place in the forest where there are trees that had been cut down and cut into planks. Andy and his friend tie four or five planks at both sides of the horses, and then we shooed them back the way we came, to the river. When we get to the river they untie the planks again. From there they are taken, usually by young children, to the nearest town, to be sold. Then we go back to the place where the planks are, and the whole thing was done over again. When we had a nice pile of planks near the river, and our stomachs were starting to make loud noises, we went back to the house for lunch. After lunch I went with Segundo (who had returned by this time) to the cacao plantation, to work in cutting the new brunches. In this way the tree grows high and strong, he explained.

During dinner Segundo asked me if I like dancing. I answered I like dancing, but I don’t know how to dance salsa. I thought he was only asking out of curiosity, but then he said- “OK, today we go dancing”. I wondered if he meant for real, because we were in the middle of nowhere, but his face did not show any sign of laughing. ‘I’ll wait and see’, I thought, and indeed- at around nine we go out on our way to the nearest pub. It was a funny scene- I went with two grandparents and their grandson on the dark road, when the moon is the only light for us, and as we pass other houses Segundo shouts to the neighbours, inviting them to come with us. We went for about an hour, now you have to remember- this people are usually fast asleep at this hour. We passed a place where you could hear music coming out of and it also had lights (rear privilege in this place), so I assumed this is the place. But no, it turns out we are going to an even better pub! One more river to cross, and around 15 more minutes, and we arrive. The house is a private house. The first floor is used as a dance floor. Outside there are two billiard tables, and some teenagers are playing. When we get inside there is no music, and we find out that the owner has gone to sleep. But, the arriving of visitors is a big thing, and the owner came down to us after a few minutes. She sat on some music, but there were no one there except me and the grandparents, so I joined Andy and the other boys outside. I play a few games of billiard, and was actually not as bad as I thought. After a short while, some men in their forties, that herd the invitation of Segundo, begin coming one by one. Segundo ask me to dance, but I say I don’t want to. He says they came all this way only because I said I wanted to dance, and now I can’t say no… I feel guilty, but on the other side I really don’t feel like being the only one dancing in front of all this elderly men (and shall the less young readers forgive me…). Only later comes two younger ladies (around my age I would guess, but then again most of the women at my age here are married with children, so probably they were a bit younger.) The younger boys come inside to, and the dancing starts. I dance at first with Andy, but he is too good of a salsa dancer for me, and is also way to enthusiastic to show it… I can’t follow his quick steps, and go over to dance with the slower ones. I have a great time, but I still feel a bit clumsy in comparison with the others here… they know how to move, shall I tell you!

Day 10- Today there is a meeting held about how to preserve the ‘Machi Chindul’ reserve. The meeting is in another community, and we get there by horses. The ride there takes about one hour and is very beautiful. At first I get on Segundo’s horse, and he gets on another one. But, like the day before, I can’t get the horse to go any faster than trotting every now and then, so I switch horses with Segundo. The other horse I go on is a fast one, but now the young boy of the horse owner is sitting behind me. At start I’m afraid of galloping with him sitting back there with no sadle or nothing. The boy’s father asks me why I’m not going any faster, and laughs when I say I’m afraid for the boy. He says that I’m one to worry for and not the boy. Here they can ride since they are three years old! From there on I’m galloping all the way. What a great feeling! During the meeting there is not much for me to do, so I’m glad that after three hours we start our ride back. I get a bit annoyed when, after we are back from the tour, Segundo asks me for five dollars for it…

Day 11- Today is my last day here. Andy gets the horse ready, and puts my bag on it. We start the walking towards the closest town where the bus stops. The hour is five thirty in the morning, and we have around two hours of walking. But the time goes fast by, as we chat (as much as I can chat with my little Spanish) and laugh.

From here I continue to Santo- Domingo, but on my way I stop in Tonchigue to say one more goodbye to my loved Jerico.

Rapport sur la communauté Mache Chindul, Informe sobre la comunidad Mache Chindul

Rapport sur la communauté Mache Chindul

Après 8h30 de bus, je suis enfin arrivée à destination, Tonchigüe, un petit village situé près de Atacames. J’ai rencontré la famille qui m’a accueillit durant le week end, j’ai mangé et je me suis couchée après une si longue journée.

Le lendemain (samedi 11 novembre), nous nous sommes levés vers 6h30 car nous devions partir à 7h pour les communautés. Nous avons pris le bus puis nous avons commencé notre escapade dans la montagne (3h de marche sous le soleil) vers les communautés.

Une fois arrivé, j’ai visité tout d’abord le village Canalón, puis nous nous sommes tous réunis pour discuter de l’association FONMSOEAM, d’un projet qui aide la population à trouver du travail pour pouvoir vivre au quotidien.

J’ai pu voir ainsi comment vivait la population, dans quelles conditions et ce sont de mauvaises conditions, les enfants ne vont pas à l’école… et le gouvernement ne les aide pas alors que c’est eux qui produisent le cacao.

Puis après avoir discuté, nous sommes repartis pour une autre communauté (San Jacinto), là nous avons encore exposé le projet, la population était moins nombreuse ce qui a permis une plus grande participation de leur part .

Cette journée fut très fatigante mais très enrichissante.

La famille où je vivais, vit également avec peu de ressources, mais les gens sont très chaleureux et sympathiques.

Les deux personnes (Wilfrido et Vicente) qui m'ont accompagnés pendant les visites ont été des guides très agréables et ont su me faire découvrir leur pays avec plaisir.

Informe sobre la comunidad Mache Chindul

Después de viajar 8h30 en autobús, por fin llegué a mi destino, Tonchigüe, un pequeño pueblo situado cerca de Atacames. Me entrevisté con la familia que me acogió durante el fin de semana, luego comí y dormí después de un largo día.

El día siguiente (sábado 11 de noviembre), nos levantamos a las 6h30 ya que debíamos ir a las 7h para las comunidades. Tomamos el autobús, luego comenzamos nuestra escapada a la montaña (3h de marcha bajo el sol) hacia las comunidades.

Una vez llegados, visitamos primero el pueblo Canalón, luego nos reunimos para discutir de la asociación FONMSOEAM, de un proyecto que ayuda a la población a trabajar para vivir mejor cada día.

He visto cómo vive la población; en qué condiciones estas son muy malas: los niños no van a la escuela… y el gobierno no les ayuda a pesar de que ellos son quienes producen el cacao.

Luego, después haber discutido, nos fuimos a otra comunidad (San Jacinto), fuimos otra vez a ver el desarrollo del proyecto de FONMSOEAM; la población era menos numerosa, allí hubo más participación de la parte de la población en la reunión que se dio

Este día fue muy duro pero muy enriquecedor.

La familia con quien viví, sobrevive también con pocos recursos pero a pesar de ello son muy cálidos y muy simpáticos.

Las dos personas (Wilfredo y Vicente) quienes me acompañaron durante las visitas fueron unos guías muy agradables y supieron hacerme descubrir su país con mucho agrado.

Ana Palmimira Silva una bióloga en el Mache Chindul

Hoja de contacto comunitario – Fundación Ecotrackers E.mail: .ecotrackers@gmail.com

COMUNIDAD	MACHE-CHINDUL VOLUNTARIOS No. 1
Director Local	Wilfredo Trejo
	telf. 091322376
Dirección	Puente de Tonchigue via a Galera
Nombre del voluntario	ANA PALMIRA SILVA País Brasil
Número de contrato	Edad 52 Estudios botánica
Nivel de español	bueno
E.mail del voluntario Telefono en su país	si.anapalm@gmail.com 00556130333971
Donación	Por Registro: 35 Por No. de días:29 x2=58 Total:93
Fecha del trabajo	12 al 18 de Diciembre 2006
PLAN DE ACTIVIDADES Y RESULTADOS ESPERADOS	ANTECEDENTES Desde 1978 los promotores de salud de esta zona tienen relación con Maximiliano Moreno. Actualmente trabaja en la producción de cacao orgánico y en el desarrollo de la Asociación de Ecoturismo del Sur de Esmeraldas. La Reserva Mache Chindul es uno de los 10 lugares mas importantes del mundo por su biodiversidad, pero tiene problemas de deforestación Anna Parlmira es una bióloga que ha trabajado con grupos negros de brasil y está sumamente interesada en visitar Bunche y Tigrillo dos comunidades negras la primera en la playa con cultura de manglar y la segunda en el bosque húmedo ACTIVIDAD1. Hacer un reporte fotográfico de las comunidades y una observación de sus problemas y atractivos. ACTIVIDAD 2 Ayudar en con charlas sobre problemas de la cultura negra en brasil y los problemas ecológicos de su país RESULADO. Publicar en el blog sus observaciones y recomendaciones
Lugar de publicación	http://esterodeplatano.blogspot.com/
Pago a la comunidad	Valor por comida, acomodación y guía: 7usd x 8 días= $ 56
Persona pagada	Nombre: José Antonio Gallardo firma:
CONTACTOS PRELIMINARES	Llamada el día 26 a las 9am y luego a las 12 para confirmar su viaje el domingo 29 a las 9:30 y llamada a las 18: 24 para confirmar
PRECAUCIONES	Observaciones: La voluntarias vivirán en la Casa de don Antonio Gallado, se incluye la alimentación en pago, deben tomar precauciones para sus viajes en las embarcaciones de los pescadores.
Evaluación de la comunidad dibuje un círculo en	Bueno Insuficiente malo	Por qué?
En emergencia	Telfs:085561622/ 02-2550208/02-2544074 (night)/098741081(JC)

Emma Newbury :el desarrollo de los indigenas Secoya-amazónicos y Chachi de la Costa

Hoja de contacto comunitario – Fundación Ecotrackers E.mail: .ecotrackers@gmail.com

COMUNIDAD	MACHE CHINDUL VOLUNTARIOS No. 5
Director Local	Wilfredo Trejo
	telf. 091322376
Dirección	Casa de dos piso próxima a la playa
Nombre del oluntario	EMMA NEWBURY País Inglaterra
Número de contrato	Edad 21 Estudios Antropogía
Nivel de español
E.mail del voluntario	emmanewbury@googlemail.com
Donación	Por Registración: Por No. de días: 7 x2=14 Total: 14
Fecha del trabajo	Del 4 al 10 de diciembre 2006
PLAN DE ACTIVIDADES Y RESULTADOS ESPERADOS	ANTECEDENTES Desde 1978 los promotores de salud de esta zona tienen relación con Maximiliano Moreno. Actualmente trabaja en la producción de cacao orgánico y en el desarrollo de la Asociación de Ecoturismo del Sur de Esmeraldas. La Reserva Mache Chindul es uno de los 10 lugares mas importantes del mundo por su biodiversidad, pero tiene problemas de deforestación. Enmma avistará la comunidad Chachi de San Salvador. Enna es una voluntaria que está haciendo un estudio comparado del desarrollo de los Secoyas en la Amazonía en relación con los Chachis. ACTIVIDAD1. Hacer un reporte fotográfico de las comunidades y una observación de sus problemas y atractivos comparando con lo que hacen los indígenas secoyas. ACTIVIDAD 2 Ayudar en plantaciones de cacao y observar como trabajan sin químicos RESULADO. Publicar en el blog sus observaciones y recomendaciones
Lugar de publicación	http://esterodeplatano.blogspot.com/
Pago a la comunidad	Valor por comida, acomodación y guía: 8USDx7/d 56 USD
Persona pagada	Nombre:Wilfirdo Trejo firma:
CONTACTOS PRELIMINARES	Mensaje a Wilfirdo el dia 7 de nov a las 14:44
PRECAUCIONES	Observaciones: Es necesario usar protección para los mosquitos, protector solar y mosquito net. Tomar 2 tabletas de aralen. La voluntaria visitara con una personas de FOMNSOAM diferentes comunidades con atractivos y un trayecto para caminar o montar a caballo interesante ella visitaría una paya interesante. Es posible se vara con indígena secoya que quiere aprender a producir cacao orgánico
Evaluación de la comunidad dibuje un círculo en	Bueno Insficiente malo	Por qué?
En emergencia	Telfs:085561622/ 02-2550208/02-2544074 (night)/098741081(JC)

Maya Mahanaymi segunda voluntaria

Hoja de contacto comunitario – Fundación Ecotrackers E.mail: .ecotrackers@gmail.com

COMUNIDAD	MACHE CHINDUL VOLUNTARIOS No. 2
Director Local	Wilfredo Trejo
	telf. 091322376
Dirección	Casa de dos piso próxima a la playa
Nombre del oluntario	Maya Mahanaymi País Israel
Número de contrato	Edad 22 Estudios militares
Nivel de español
E.mail del voluntario	mayamahanaymi@yahoo.com
Donación	Por Registración: Por No. de días: 10 x2=20 Total: 20
Fecha del trabajo
PLAN DE ACTIVIDADES Y RESULTADOS ESPERADOS	ANTECEDENTES Desde 1978 los promotores de salud de esta zona tienen relación con Maximiliano Moreno. Actualmente trabaja en la producción de cacao orgánico y en el desarrollo de la Asociación de Ecoturismo del Sur de Esmeraldas. La Reserva Mache Chindul es uno de los 10 lugares mas importantes del mundo por su biodiversidad, pero tiene problemas de deforestación ACTIVIDAD1. Hacer un reporte fotográfico de las comunidades y una observación de sus problemas y atractivos. ACTIVIDAD 2 Ayudar en plantaciones de cacao y observar como trabajan sin químicos RESULADO. Publicar en el blog sus observaciones y recomendaciones
Lugar de publicación	http://esterodeplatano.blogspot.com/
Pago a la comunidad	Valor por comida, acomodación y guía: 8USDx10/d 80USD
Persona pagada	Nombre:Wilfirdo Trejo firma:
CONTACTOS PRELIMINARES	26 de octubre 2006 8.A.M. primer contacto con Michael del Hierro 092143098
PRECAUCIONES	Observaciones: Es necesario usar protección para los mosquitos, protector solar y mosquito net. Tomar 2 tabletas de aralen. La voluntaria visitara con una personas de FOMNSOAM diferentes comunidades con atractivos y un trayecto para caminar o montar a caballo interesante ella visitaría una paya interesante
Evaluación de la comunidad dibuje un círculo en	Bueno Insficiente malo	Por qué?
En emergencia	Telfs:085561622/ 02-2550208/02-2544074 (night)/098741081(JC)