ItĀ“s been a while since the last blog post. We spent ten days without any internet in Achupallas- a very rural community in the mountains above Otavalo. Otavalo famous town with one of largest outdoor markets in the world. They sell everything– blankets, jackets, instruments, jewelry, food, hammocks, hats, etc. After the time we spent there before and after our rural homsetays, the twelve of us could probably open up a little market of our own with the bags of stuff we bought. We stayed one night and two days in the town before heading up to Achupallas.
Achupalls was an amazing experience- the favorite spot thus far for many people in the group. Everyone had their own host family. The families were so warm and hospitipal. The people are ingigenous and still speak Quichua- the language the Incas spoke 600 years ago before the Spansih even arrived in Peru and Ecuador.
Their lifestyle is very rural, and based around agriculture. Most families have a farm or garden and grown their own food. Even the families without much land are bound to own some vacas and chanchos (cows and pigs). I (Max) would get up every morning around four or five oĀ“clock to help my family feed the pigs. Then my host mom made me breakfast (usually reheated soup from the night before).
At 8:30 the group met up to work on our volunteer project- building a greenhouse. Deforestation is an obvious problem in the area and the greenhouse will be used to farm trees to reforest Ecuador.
We started the project from scratch. We had had to level the area, classify wood, paint the wood, elevate land, dig holes and trenches, etc. Basically we worked mostly on all the ĀØdirty workĀØthat needs to be done before the structure can actually be put up. But by the time we left 10 days later most of the framework had already bee constructed.
The leader of the construction project was Mateo- a wizzened, jolly old indigenous man whoĀ“s land and livelyhood had been taken away from him by the government without any good reason. It was fulfilling to know that he now had complete control over this land and that the governement could not take it away because it was protected by USINCI- an organization for indigenous rights and improvemennts.
The entire experience was amazing and rounded out by some amazing side adventures: a hike to a volcanic lake and a boat ride around it, a visit to Abuelita- a ninty-two yearold indigenous healer who actually rid one of us of bad energy on the spot; a day making dinner with Claudia- a chef who has traveled around South America perfecting her rescipies (several people bought her cookbook after tasting the unbelievable food we created with her guidance.
But the most beautiful and rewarding part was the relationship we developed with the community. It was the first time Achupallas had hosted a single foriegner and they were so excited to have us. It is an experience that the Achupallas community and us travelers will never forget.
Love Max and Lizzy
