Ecuador *Ecuador Day #8, October 18, 2008:  The Market in Otavalo and a Reflection on the Need for Micro-Loans

Today is Saturday.   In the morning I spent a couple of hours in the feria (market) of Otavalo.  The market is world famous and, as a result, extends for many blocks on Saturdays.  Yet, I was saddened to see that most items are artesanias (handicrafts), not the art that I saw in Cuzco, Peru last year, and the quality of most items is not high.   I am told that the quality of the goods was much higher about twenty years ago.   I did find and purchase three hand-knit bags that I wanted – paying $53.  I probably could have gotten them for less, but I don’t have the heart to bargain hard for something handmade.  The señora from whom I purchased them said she spends about three days on each.   I hope that she made them or that, at least, a substantial portion of what I paid does go to the person who did make them.  I have been cautioned by people here that many vendors in the market claim to make the goods they sell, but that is not true.

Comments on the need for micro-loans in Ecuador:  My host told me he took a loan for several thousand dollars from a bank [name omitted from blog].  The interest was about 100% for a year.   Such interest rates would be unfathomable for most of us in the United States.  Then, month after month my host had to wait in line for nearly a day to make his monthly payment.   He says the rates and the time-consuming payment process are typical.   He and others told me told that there are no laws setting limits on interest rates on loans made to individuals and small businesses in Ecuador. 

I plan to learn more about interest rates and the need for prohibitions against usurious rates in both countries I have studied these past two years (Ecuador and Nicaragua).  If anyone reading this blog can direct me to such information, I will be grateful.    Both countries need such laws and, once enacted, they must be enforced.  The fact that loans are prohibitively expensive for people trying to run small businesses in Nicaragua and Ecuador shows the need for micro-loan programs such as those run by Grameen Bank, KIVA, and various other non-profit organizations. 

Copyright ©2008, by Paulette L. Stenzel8

*Ecuador Day #7 October 17, 2008 Intag & El Rosal

We left at about 6:45 a.m. heading into the Reserva Ecológica Cotacachi-Cayapas (The Cotacachi-Cayapas Ecological Preserve).  The road is a dirt trail winding along the edges of mountains. 

Observation about daily life in Ecuador:  The guidebooks say that Ecuadorians routinely give each other rides in the back of pickups.   That is true.  In the course of today we picked up a couple of people from Agato on their way to town (short rides), a man with a bicycle who turned out to be a relative of the people were going to meet with in El Rosal, and a group of about six school children who were on their way home from school going to El Rosal. 

New experiences:  At El Rosal, I was shown a huge pod from a guava tree.  Inside are huge seeds, and we ate the soft white fruit that covers the seeds.  It is absolutely delicious.   Carmen Ruíz also cut a piece of aloe, let it drain for about 15 minutes.  Then she carved out pieces from the inside.  The flavor is very mild, and the consistency is a combination of slippery outside and like a watermelon for the inside piece. 

I am realizing the following:   With its varied climates, cultures, and resources, Ecuador is like a microcosm of the world.  One of my hosts at El Rosal today remarked that Cotacachi is like a small scale Ecuador with its diversity of geography, climate, and people.  I agree based on what I have observed.

Reflections on my visits today:  It is sad to see the cement mining in the mountains.  It is like viewing the results of daggers of slashed through the mountain from the summit and downward, bleeding.  At one point there was a beautiful waterfall with some of the water flowing over the road.  To the right was a mountain suffering from the mining.  Next to the waterfall was a sign shared by World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the name of the cement company.  I wonder, does WWF realize how this looks? 

Leaving the heights of the Andes and going into lower mountains, the scenery changes drastically.  We drive into the sub-tropics.  There are orange, mandarin, and plaintain trees.  Plantains are huge bananas used in cooking in many Latin American countries.   

My first visit was to Intag, where I meet with Sylvia Quilunbango, President of DECOIN, an organization that has been fighting since 1996 to prevent a Canadian company from opening a copper mine in the middle of the bioreserve.  The stories she tells of the company’s actions are chilling.   Her commitment and that of many other people of Intag is amazing.  (I’ll write more about DECOIN and the struggle  at a later date.   For information about Intag and current political issues in Ecuador, visit www.intagnewspaper.org.  The website is in English and Spanish.

We traveled toward El Rosal.  It was supposed to be an hour’s drive but it  turned into about three hours.   We took a wrong turn up into the mountains and had to backtrack about 15 minutes.   Along the route toward El Rosal we picked up a man on a bike – he called himself a “guide.”   In Ecuadorian style, we picked him up, and he and his bike rode in the back of the Toyota 4 X 4 in which we traveled.  We came to an area where a power shovel was high above us on the right digging and digging, with rocks and dirt tumbling onto the road.  Well, we had noticed something about the road being closed except from 12:30 – 1:30.   But around 1:00 we were told it would be another three hours.  So…. we backtracked, crossed the river and took another narrow road with lots of potholes and flooded with water in places.  The road hugged the mountain all along the way.  The views were absolutely amazing.   But really, it is hard to call it a road – better said, it is a dirt trail riddled with rocks.    But, finally we made our way around, taking about an hour to arrive on the other side of where the construction was going on – and from there we took about another half hour to get to El Rosal – the end of the road, literally, in the Bosque Nublado (cloud forest).   What an amazing setting!  It was sunny and we had a magnificent view as we arrived.  When we left four hours later, we looked down on a complete covering of clouds – yes, below us.  

The folks at El Rosal were an absolute delight.   Six women run a fair trade business making soaps, body creams, and shampoo.  All ingredients are comestibles (edible) and organic.  They developed the business as a way to promote economic development that is an alternative to the unwanted mining.  Their stories of perseverance are wonderful!  Ten women worked for two years to develop their soaps. (Over time, four women dropped out.)   They did it all with a $700 loan and their own investments, sometimes selling chickens and other products to gather cash they needed.  While they worked long hours for no pay, all of their husbands supported them by helping with cooking, childcare, and housekeeping.   To pulverize the palm oil they use (it solidifies at room temperature), at first they used a kitchen mill.  Later, they acquired a more sophisticated piece of equipment.  When they decided to install a telephone, the phone company provided 350 meters as part of the price they paid.  They had to purchase an additional 2,500 meters to reach the line up the mountain to their home!   When they were completely out of money, they went to meet with someone from Spain who was interested in their soaps.   It felt like their last chance to finally make it.  They traveled to meet the Spaniard, and they were overjoyed to get an order for 900 bars of soap, at 60 cents each, with 15 days to deliver them.  Working long, long hours, they did it.   And, with the proceeds they paid off half of their loan and paid for the tile for a room in their little shop.  What a victory!   The loan was from a bank – one year to pay it off, with monthly payments and 12% interest.  (This is an unusually low rate of interest for such loans in Ecuador.)     

As we approached Otavalo around 9:00 p.m., we saw the city lights and what looked like another city.  That “other city” is a cement plant owned by the French company LaFarge.  It is the largest cement plant in Ecuador, and is located 11 kilometers outside of Otavalo.   It is sobering to know that that plant is the cause of so many scars on the beautiful mountains within the bioreserve. 

Other:  I will be writing more in another forum about how the people of Intag are working hard to find sustainable ways to develop their economy.  Everyone I talk with speaks of the need to protect the madre tierra (Mother Earth) from more harm.   I am impressed the sophistication of people in Intag and El Rosal – they are highly conscious of how actions of human beings hurt the earth.  

Copyright ©2008, by Paulette L. Stenzel



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*Ecuador Day #5, October 15, 2008 – UNORCAC and Acción Ecológica

One of my visits today was to UNORCAC.  UNORCAC stands for Unión de Organizaciones Campesinas e Indígenas de Cotacachi.  It represents over forty groups  of people including indigenous, mestizo, and Afro-Ecaudorian communities from the Andean region of the Canto Cotacachi, Imbabura Province, Ecuador.   Their work is highly impressive, and leaders of various offices were generous with their time, instruction me about their various projects including agrarian reform, livestock programs, micro-loans, markets for agricultural products, and others.   They help develop infrastructure including roads, potable water, and electricity. 

An observation:  At each of my visits in Ecuador, those with whom I visit are able to give me detailed histories with names of people, places and organizations; dates; and details about activities in long narratives.   It is highly impressive, and reflects the oral tradition of indigenous people.  Most of us in the United States would not be able to give such detailed narratives lasting an hour or more. 

Another visit was to Quito where I attended a panel presented by Acción Ecológica (Ecological Action). discussing the new Ecuadorian Constitution’s ban on genetically modified organisms (GMOs).   My eyes and ears opened widely after I heard speaker after speaker discuss the ill effects of  GMOS.  Speakers were from Brazil, Argentina, and Ecuador.   Most people I talked with in Ecuador are upset with the United States companies that promote GMOs.  And, they are upset with a provision in their new constitution that allows their President to make an exception to the ban:  in an “emergency,” the President can permit GMO seeds.  

Copyright © 2008 by Paulette L. Stenzel                    

*A visit to a fair trade store & reflections regarding names of children in Ecuador and Nicaragua

A visit to a fair trade store:

Fair trade is much more visible in Quito and in the Imbabura province of Ecuador than is true in the United States.   There is a chain of stores call Comari in Quito.  The fair trade products sold range from vegetables, meat, fish, coffee, chocolate, and grains, to skin care products, and art and handicrafts such as handmade baskets and paper.

 My fourth visit of today (a busy day!) is to a fair trade store that opened recently (June 2008) in Cotacachi.  The store is bright, super clean, and cheery.  There are not a lot of items in stock, but there is a wide variety of fair trade products.  Food products include jams, aji sauces, coffee, chocolate, cheese, sunflower seeds, and dried goose berries.   They sell grains with the Comari  brand.  They also sell cheeses from Salineras, a community known for many years for several projects designed to help people help themselves in sustainable ways.  (I will write about Salineras in another blog.)  There are also some artesanías (quality handicrafts) including hats, bags, necklaces.   The store also sells regional specialties such as pineapple liqueurs.   And there are skin care products such as soaps, creams, and shampoos made by a women’s cooperative in El Jardín, high on a mountain in Imbabura. (I will visit the cooperative later this week.)  There are tables in the fair trade store to sit to have coffee; the menu is simple.  atmosphere is attractive for people who may want to simply visit.  The store's motto is “consume lo nuestro” (consume that which is ours); I saw that motto in various stores around Ecuador.

Names of indigenous children:

Here in Agato-Otavalo, Ecuador, I have met many people who have given Kichwa (Quichua) names.  Sr. Santillán explained that when he was a child, parents were prohibited by the government from using Kichwa names.  They were required to choose a Christian name from a list provided by the government.  Oscar’s next brother was named Guillermo for that reason.  However, their youngest brother (age about 26) was born after the rule was abolished and he was given a Kichwa name:  Raymi.    Guillermo Santillán and his wife, Matilde, have two young children.  Their names are Ila (la semilla de la verdad –seed of the truth) and Atik (piedra dorada ponderosa- powerful golden stone).  At least in this part of Ecuador, some people welcome the opportunity to choose names for their children to reflect their own culture and heritage. 

While I was in Nicaragua in 2007, it was clear that many people have lost touch with their indigenous background.   When I asked people around Managua about their background and indigenous ancestors, many simply said, “I must have such origins, and they must be Nahautl, but I really do not know.”   Many people I met around Managua had given their children names from English, but they are pronounced in Spanish.  Such names include Gladys, Jessica, Roger, Henri, Harold, and others.  To my knowledge this is by choice, not a requirement of law.

*Copyright © 2008, by Paulette L. Stenzel

*Travel from Quito to Agato-Otavalo.  Looking for fair trade-certified flowers.

Agato is a Kichwa (Quichua)  village outside of the City of Otavalo.   (Quichua is the Spanish spelling of Kichwa.)   Kichwa is one of two languages recognized (in limited ways) by the new constitution passed on September 28, 2008.

En route to Otavalo, we passed rows and rows of greenhouses where roses and carnations are grown.   I asked about fair trade or organic flower growing, but no one seemed to know about any greenhouses belonging to fair trade companies.   Those who work in the greenhouses are exposed to dangerous pesticides.  During my days in Ecuador, many people told me about their serious concerns about pesticides that escape into the air and affect people living in the region, not just those working in the greenhouses.

Note:  There is a movement for fair trade-certified flowers in Ecuador.  Fair trade-certified flowers have been available in Europe for many years, and since 2007 a few companies have offered them for sale in the United States.  The Fair Trade Resource Network provides information about this on its website.  Fair trade flowers also come from several companies n Colombia.  

Copyright ©2008, by Paulette L. Stenzel

The new constitution passed by referendum on September 28, 2008 is the topic of conversation among most people I meet.  I will be adding my comments here.

*Ecuador Day #1, October 11, 2008  As I fly to Quito, Ecuador to study sustainable development while the world is in economic crisis

The timing of this trip is perfect – I am going to an important place, at the right time, to continue study of sustainable development.   Ecuador includes four major regions:   the Amazon, the Andes, the Pacific Coast, and the Galápagos Islands.  It provides a microcosm of habitats and species that are affected by unsustainable development.  And its people have just adopted (on September 28, 2008) a constitution that recognizes the rights of nature.  This appears to be a “first” in the world.

The world is at a critical junction as we face the most severe economic stability since the Great Depression of the 1930s.  The U.S. stock market has fallen significantly over the past six days.  The bail out of the mortgage industry in amounts beginning with $700 billion dollars is now being called a mere “drop in the bucket” by some analysts.  The falling prices on the stock market have spread to stock exchanges around the world.  People are frightened.  Government leaders are holding emergency meetings to try to figure out what to do. 

Over the past year, people around the world have finally acknowledged that climate change is real and that we must change our human activities that exacerbate the changes.  (I choose to refer to this as climate change, not global warming, because it is not all about warming.   I agree with Hunter Lovins, President of the non-profit group Natural Capitalist Solutions, who calls it “global weirding”.)   And our concerns are not just related to climate change.  We have hit gas prices of over $4.00 per gallon in the United States.  Our supplies are limited, and we find that we are hitting the bottom of the oil barrel.  Finally, we realize that we must find alternative sources of energy.  Moreover, are realizing that we have used and continue to use many other resources such as water, trees, coal, for example in unsustainable ways.  All of this is interrelated; we simply must find ways to do business and live in sustainable ways.   [Comment:  Upon my return to the United States on October 26, gas prices had fallen sharply and they have continued to fall to about $2.17 as of November 4, election day in the United States.]

Sustainability is the new concern for many individuals, businesses, government bodies, and other institutions.  (I hope that we will flesh out meaningful definitions of it, and not use it as another buzz word.)  Michigan State University, my academic home, is working on major projects to “Go Green.”  I am working with others in my college to identify ways to make our teaching, research, and life within our physical environment more sustainable.  I know that my research on sustainability, which I have been doing in the early 1990s is needed.  

My next fifteen days will give me an opportunity to talk with people of Ecuador about their perspectives.  I plan to talk with people in fair trader, government, conventional (non-fair trade) business, environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and indigenous organizations.  And, I will have an opportunity to talk with people from differing cultural perspectives:  the mestizo people of the city of Quito, as well as mestizo and indigenous people of the region of Imbabura.

Closing comment:  After writing the paragraphs above, I wrote several pages about how and why Ecuador provides a powerful illustration of the need for sustainable development.  I am examining how its three major export industries (oil, bananas, and shrimp) operate in ways that are unsustainable.   Those pages will be incorporated in a law review article I am writing on “Trade and Sustainability in Ecuador.” 

*Copyright © 2008, by Paulette L. Stenzel

I have returned from my 16 day trip to Ecuador during which I  studied fair trade, free trade, and sustainable development.      Over the coming days and weeks I will post  notes about my experiences.  I left on October 11 and returned on October 26.   I will be editing some of my notes from my trip and posting them one by one.   So, the date of posting will not match the date from my comments.  My comments will reflect a variety of observations, not just what I will be writing about for my research  As I learn about the people of the country I am visiting, I am more open to learning about their perspectives on sustainable development (economics, social equity, and environment.) 

Hello,

My next research trip will be this month.  I am going to Ecuador to study Fair Trade, free trade, and sustainable development.  Ecuador is an amazing and beautiful country that includes mountains of the Andes, Pacific coastal zones, and even Amazon rain forests.  It is a particularly meaningful time to be traveling to Ecuador.   Ecuador's people voted to approve a new constitution on September 28, 2008.  Among other provisions, it gives certain rights to nature.   

*This constitutional provision reminds me of the words of one of my heroes from the U.S. Supreme Court:  Justice William O. Douglas.  He wrote a famous dissent in a 1972 case.   In essence, he said that trees should have standing to be protected and represented in our U.S. court system.  The case involved a battle over the Mineral King Valley of Sequoia National Forest in California's Sierra.   Sierra Club was contesting the decision of the U.S. Forest Service to sell the fragile valley to Walt Disney Enterprises.   The Sierra Club documented damage that would occur to the valley both in terms of ecology and aesthetics.  Disney and the Forest Service argued that the Sierra Club had no "standing" to participate in the proceedings because it did not own property in the area.  Ultimately, after much litigation and a second filing in the case, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the Sierra Club to continue as a party, saying it had economic interests.  Economic interests arose from the fact that Sierra Club members used the lands to engage in activities tied to the economy such as hunting, fishing, and camping.  (In the aftermath of the litigation, Disney did not build the ski resort it had planned for the valley.)

In his dissent, Justice Douglas argued for direct protection of nature without the complicated argument about economic interests of members of the Sierra Club.  He said trees should have standing.  Douglas was influenced by the words of law Professor Christopher Stone who wrote a famous essay entitled, "Should Trees Have Standing?” 

Closing comment:  Bravo to the Ecuadorians!  This is only a start, but it is an important one, opening the door to protection of the environment.