An Alternative to Development

My posts have been a bit out of order lately, mainly due to lack of internet. I lastly wrote on my birthday (Saturday) and ended with saying I would have more after I returned from the cloud forest. That post was completed about a week prior to the actual posting, so I am, in fact, back from the cloud forest. So what is the cloud forest? The Intag Cloud forest is first and foremost a climite region in Ecuador. I wish I knew the specifics of how it is formed, but I don't. I know it is at a lower elevation that Quito and on the west side of the westernmost Andese Mountain range. I assumed it is formed in the same way the clouds are trapped by the Cascades in Oregon, by forming over the ocean and rushing onto land only to be blocked by the mountians. What happens here next is the warm weather and calm winds allow the clounds to slowly rise and pass over the mountains. The water condenses making this zone super wet, but is warm enough in the day to support a huge variety of life and create a semi-rainforest atmosphere. The property itself that we visited for 5 days was called La Florida, and is run by a man named Carlos. Carlos is an activist and for all intents and purposes a hippy by American standards. But the label of hippy doesn't do him justice. He is both well educated and well articulated. For the past thirty-some years he has dedicated his life to Intag and protecting the natural beauty and biodiversity it has to offer. He has purchased swaths of farmland and allowed nature to reclaimd its rightful place as a prosperous forrest. He also lives in the cloud forrest with his wife and family and a few other Ecuadorians and gringos. Everything they eat they grow, and if they don't grow it they purchase it from the nearest town of Otavalo. The food is all organic and everything on the property is recycled into compost to continue the process. We had coffee, oh the best coffee in the world, quinoa, potatoes, fuits, juices, everything was homemade (at one point a cookbook even existed; written by one of the Intag community memebers). In addition to the wonderful food and company we were given the opportunity to listen to lectures by the local community memebers, beginning with Carlos and his struggle against the mining companies. The community of Intag has time and time again fought off commercial mining interests, first the Japanese, then the Canadians, and now the Chinese. Each time the dispute has intensified, and with road improvement being completed in the region, I fear that this new fight is only just beginning. In the past Carlos has been called a environmental terrorist by the government, had his home raided, and has gone into hiding. All to protect the land that the Ecuadorian consitution gives rights to; rights that protect it from extractive practices. It was in this lecture that Carlos put the indigenous sruggle, and his, in a nut shell. He said that from the indigenous people's perspective the earth has existed and will continue to exist without us, but we can not exist without the earth; so how can somone own something that they depend on? We listened to a woman speak on the protests and an incident in which private security came to Intag and berated protestors with tear gas. Last but not least we listened to Mary Ellen, a member of the community and expert on Ecuadorian history, give us a lecture about post colonialism ecuador; ending in the 1910s. We went on a hike though the cloud forrest with a man who had grown up in the area, and whose knowledge of the plants, both medicinal and not, was astounding. It was an amazing trip. We spent time learning about the world we are taking a part in, and learning about each other as well. Our first night we spent playing a question game where anything was game; regrets, fears, apirastions, first experiences. I don't think I've ever felt so comfotable opening up to a group of friends. And lastly we did an early celebration of my brithday, though I missed it (a virus went around the program while we were there). I did get my present afterwards, an authentic Cuban Cigar which I promptly smoked the following day. I can't say enough about this trip, and as always I am at a loss for words to discribe my program and the profound impact it is having on the way I see the world. I am now at my Quito homestay and have begun the first series of lectures on Development Paradigms. I'm sure some interesting conversation will come of this, but as always I'll leave you on the edge of your seat until next time. Chiao friends!