Elizabeth~

One night, me and Flor went to our aunts across the road for dinner. When we walked in, it was really nice! it was spacious and open. The lights were dimmed and all that was there at the time was my aunt cooking in the kitchen, and my smallest sister Yadida sitting alone in the living room. I walked in and jumped on the couch with Yadi. She instantly hugged me and stayed wrapped around me. Right then i was surprised she liked me being it that i don´t even speak her language and because my other sister never really bothered to talk with me.
Then, i started asking her how to say certain things around the house in spanish, and she´d tell me then i´d tell her how to say them in english. I was so happy to see that she was actually willing to teach me and actually wanted to try to learn some english. Then, i wanted to see what she knew so i´d say somethings in english, like letters, numbers, days, family members and other basic, easy stuff, and i was surprised how much she knew!

She knew all her letters and numbers, months and days, some family members and even some cloths. I was so impressed! Then that night in dinner, she´d say some english sentences like ´thank you for the food´and ´very good.´ I was so impressed with her english! and so happy we had that little bond then and there. She was definatly the closest person to me during the homestay experience, she was like a real sister!
I LOVE YOU YADI!!!!

Rasheed~

One experience that I want to share with you from the two weeks I´ve been in yunguilla is how my homestay family interacts with eachother. What I mean by that is the way they talk to eachother so calm and gently. You can tell that they try to avoid arguments as much as possible. Their all about family, they love and care for eachother and they don´t value money as a way of life. Back on my hometown my family are not all about eachother, were divided into pieces and they always value money as their way of life. It´s a hard life to live and thats why im going to take what my homestay family shared with me and share it with my family so we can be whole again.

Kelsi~

One morning me and my family woke up to start the day. We ate breakfast and got ready to hop on the truck that takes us up to the charcoal ovens. During the ride, my ears were getting really, really cold and they started to hurt so i put on my bandana. We finally arrived to the charcoal ovens and started working. The ovens are on a big hill in the pine forest and they cut down the small trees and stack the up in a nice neat pile and cover them up with dirt. They leave holes under the ovens so they can put fire underneath and they let them burn for days. After 3 or 4 days and the wood becomes coal. Then they uncover the coal and bag it up after making sure its no too hot.

Local Yunguilla Queso

After the morning passed of hard work, we all kind of got restless. And being it that i´m the type who likes to make people laugh, i started putting coal on one of the bags, and there was one piece of coal that was too hot and it started burning a hole through the bag, so i had this crazy idea to put the bag up to my face and peek through the hole and say ´hola!´ and my whole family laughed histaricaly! After that, all day everyone was up lifted and happy.The whole walk home, everyone talked and laughed and copied what i did, and they´re still talking about it today. Now when me and mama see each other, we say ´hola!´

Andrew~

Its the first day in yunguilla and all of us were going to meet our families. Getting nervous but also excited, my homestay and I were sent with the Morales family. I wondered how my homestay family and home was going to be like. So allc of us grabed our bags and began our hike to our homes. Little did I know that the hike was going to be uphill. Five minutes of constant walking and I was getting tired already. The first two groups arrived at their homes. I started to feel that we were almost at our house. Three minutes had passed and the third group had arrived at their home. Feeling even more tired and ticked, we continued walking up. Another five minutes had passed and the fourth group had arrived at their home. I started to feel like Im going to faint and throw my stuff off the cliff, we continued up more.

Finally six minutes had passed and we finally arrived at our home. Once we saw our house, I felt so relieved. After the family gave us the tour of the house, they showed me our room, I dropped off my bags, and took a very long nap ( that was how tired I was after the hike to our home).

Dan~

The moment that impacted me the most was the first day we were in Yungilla.After meeting my host family we started walking to our new home.At first I was so excited.I took in the beautiful weather and the new environment we was in. About 15 minutes into the walk I noticed everybody was gone.They all had reached there host families houses. At that point I was all ready tried I was use to climbing mountains exspecly at high attitude’s! About 30 minutes later Andrew and I arrived at our new house.

Another indicted that impacted me was milking cows. For 2 weeks I walked an 1/2 hour to milk them.The hardest part was milking the cow!I never realized that getting an gallon of milk could be this rough! i only had to do This was for two weeks the people of Yungilla do this everyday of their life. The next time I buy some milk at Fred Meyers or Safeway I will always remember the people of Yungilla and the hard work that goes into having it! This 2 events made me appreciate how fountunte i am to not have to struggle everyday to walk for less than Minuim wage.

View from Yunguilla

Roger~

“Alright Chivo, what are we doing today?” I asked my homestay father after eating my potato and bean soup breakfast.

“We are a…going to the cow house…and we..build a fence.” he replied with his pretty well spoken english.

When I heard and thought about making a fence, my first thought was something like “hmm..a fence can´t be that bad, can it?”

When we reached the storage house, we divided up the things to carry to our job site. I carried a big bundle of barbed wire, Rasheed carried a post hole digger, and our dad carried the machette, hammer, and a bag of staple presser points. As we were walking, walking and walking up, up and up a nearby mountain, I had already felt the pressure of frustration pushing roughly against my dam of patience and tranquility. The fifty pound bundle of barbed wire gained fifty more pounds and my calves were screaming at me to stop, but I focused my thoughts and energy on Chivo´s feet walking in front of me, setting the pace and idea of “If he can do it, so can I.”

Dig a two foot hole, place a tree post in it, fill the hole with dirt, pack it down with a stick, walk across the mountain to get more posts, carry as many as you can back, and do everything over again for about a hundred more yards. Then of course, go back to the top to connect the barbed wire three times.

In the process of building our barbed wire fence on the side of the mountain, I decided to remix the song “Killing Me Softly” by Lauren Hill:

“Pricking our fingers on barbed wire.
Diggin´up holes on a hill.
Building a fence on a mountain,
Killing me softly
With this work
Pricking our fingers
On this fence
Killing me softly…
With this worrrk”

Yungilla worked me to the point that I have reached a sort of second breath to life. I appreciate every step I´ve taken during the labor, soccer games, and community minga´s. The thing that I will definately take from Yungilla and keep with me during my everyday life is the strong effort to just get up and do productive things or activities – stay active, always.

Flor~

Walking in a daze, fully not understanding where i am. A flurry of footsteps surround and consume me. A young voice calls my name, such a familiar voice. Intoxicated by natures sweet melody, rustling leaves play a unique symphony imprinted in my hear. A long face with beautifull buldging eyes takes curiosity in me, moments pass before the face resumes to hide behind the sleek blades of grass. Moist and damp, tears fall from those sleek edges into a pool of memories. No experience is above the other. Day to day the wind carries a new message to my yearning ear, sweet whispers that are lost before the night gives way to the sun. Challanges are lost and seem to glide off with passing dreams that I can never recolect. A starry night slides between the crevises of my window, spilling into my room and plundging me into an abyss unlike the rest, one of tranquility. As the sun follows the drifting moon, bright rays cascade beneath my sheets and caress me with a warmth unlike any other. Sleepy eyes are kissed awake by the surrounding light ive come to know for years. Feet wonder off and I have no choice but to follow. Led into a serenespace where silence is awkward and unity is key. Casting glances at the individuals that surround me, at first im searching through a fog. As time passes, so does the fog. No longer blinded by white clouds I see these people…my second family. No longer do I find myself walking in a daze.

Isabel~

Before heading off to South America the Ecuador team and myself thought about some stereotypes that we or other North Americans might have about the country. We each made a list and a promise to ourselves to think about those preconceptions while on the trip. Now the Ecuador team is enjoying our last phase of the journey in the community of Yungilla, each paired with another member in a

View of Yungilla

house with a family that resides there. Because it is our last phase of the trip, we´ve been asked to revisit those stereotypes and consider what we have experienced that may have proven them to be true or otherwise. I was most interested in the fact that our country loves to make it seem as though other countries of the world need our help in sustaining life. I hoped that my visit to many such communities as Yungilla, Sarayaku, Aliñabi, Intag and Apuela would prove that our country´s widespread message is wrong. I have found that these communities wish nothing other than to depend only on themselves and keep hold of their culture. In the week that I´ve spent with my second family in Yungilla I´ve seen the hard work they do everyday to feed their families, the enjoyment they get from the simple things like a daily futból match and the pride they show for their way of life. They have and continue to welcome many groups of volunteers that will join them in preserving their traditions and ways of harvest. However, I have learned that they raise every child to show pride for who they are and where they come from. This pride and strength needs no more than its´ surrounding community to become completely self-dependant.

Rasheed~

Rasheed

My brother gave me an assumption that all ecuadorians hate black people. That assumption stuck in my head and kind of put me in fear to the point where I was thinking of not going on this trip. That assumption was wrong, actually they adore me over here. They gave me a new name The Prince Of Rap, yep that´s what they call me. I asked one of the kids over here why do you call me that and he said because you have a unique style and we never seen anyone with that type of style. wow I feel like im famous over here.

Andrew~

Kelsi & Andrew

I was completely wrong! And i realized this as soon as i stepped in the airport. No one was starring or giving us rude looks. And it was very quick that we built good relationships with people in Quito like our bus driver (Alphonso, who we love! and Deana, the lady that works at the hostel.) and the people on the streets and at the places we went were real nice.

Yunguilla, the host community

Although all these people were so nice, i was still a little worried how our host families would see us. And thankfully, they were extremely welcoming! My family, they all welcomed us, were very interested in us and treated us just like family. I even asked them what they thought about north americans, and their response surprised me. Nothing affensive and all of it, i agree with. They say they hear most of our work is hard on the mind, like computer work, unlike for them, most of their work is hard labor. They´ve also heard things are a lot éasier´for us like washing dishes, washing cloths, transportation etc. and for them, they hand wash dishes always, hand wash cloths, and walk a lot. Still they commented and said they´d have thier life style no other way.

Students in the Amazon

Flor~

One important thing that people from Portland, and simply throughout the world, is that the Sarayacu are a very strong community base that is independent from the government yet they fight with all they can in order to preserve one of the few, and the biggest, patches of serene pure terrain. Regardless of anything they take up this responsibility to help us all around the globe, they find no burdain in this and they do it so unselfishly. They understand that power comes from being trully united and not embark as individuals but as a whole, a one well developed and working body.

Throughout my short stay here, I have been able to witness the immense knowledge that these people contain, the unique way of thinking that leaves us with simple solutions to an otherwise grim looking present and future situation. They are extreemly resoursefull and I cant help but find myself in utter awe when they produce a fully functioning object in a matter of moments. For example, one of our guides ( Luis Miguel ) made something that resembles a backpack in a few minutes. Produced through the single branch of a plant, weaving the sleek long leaves together to form an outer basket. Though the difference in culture is striking, there comes the point where you let that slip through your fingers and your left with the fact that we trully are similar; in thought and the way we tend to do things. Then came the largest realization, that the Sarayacu are advanced in ways that technology could never compare let alone surpass.

Finding myself surrounded by utter beauty and taking within myself fresh natural air that has no camparison. I walk through trails, paths that have known only the footsteps of the strong, a path only knowing sweat and tears that are now embeded into the warm earth. People must realize that wealth is achivied through happyness and true happyness can only be achieved when we realize that Mother Earth is a unique pearl… and object of beauty that must be preserved. Which is exactly how the Sarayacu percieve her.

More than anything this tribe must be acknowledged as glorious, for their triumphsat protecting their land that has rightfully been passed down through generations, for mastering this land as well as for their noble souls that genuanly care for one another. To consider us all as brothers and sisters, as a family. Once again, a strong community that has plenty to teach the rest of us in successfull ways, only the future can tell us if we will have enough heart to fully open our ears and let the teaching comense.

There are so many things that the Sarayacu have been able to influence me with, this in only a few days of observations and conversations as a whole. But I was astounded to realize that they take the responsibility of preserving the rainforest for us all. They do this with pride and they dont find it a burden what so ever, a responsibility that is entrusted to us all… yet the majority take no notice. I take with me the importance of working as a whole and to stop thinking of my own selfish material needs. To work with others is a gift, as an individual you can only get so far. When i would work as a group the first thing that would come to my mind is “how do I benifit from this… how can I benefit from this” instead of putting the task at hand first. I know that with passion and determination, one can succeed.

……………………

Roger~

The people of Sarayaku are peaceful and simple. Their simplicity wouldn´t be simple for anyone who wasn´t born into their lifestyle because it consists of hard labor, lack of material wealth, and a lot of community teamwork, but the payment of this way of life is a future for generations to come.

One of the messages that I got from them was that they understand that we are all connected in this world. For every liter or gallon of gasoline bought to run an engine, a community somewhere in the world runs out of life. We all as a whole need to learn to see as well as care. Realizing the true cost of a natural resource and understanding that the cost strongly effects everyone is one part, but we need to focus on taking action any way that we can. The most important part is that it´s not a process we have time to just consider, but it´s an issue that we need to act upon now.

By starting with yourself, to move towards a future of existence, you set an example and influence whoever it is that looks to you with respect. Talking about caring helps, recycling helps, conserving energy helps, alternative energy helps, supporting fair trade products helps, and questioning and comparing desires to needs helps. From my recent experiences, I´ve decided to live with a more caring perspective and I can´t wait to live my new life back home.

…………………….

Shelby~

the people of sarayaku are very strong mentaly and physicly. the hike up and these crazy steep hills with children straped to there backs and carrying machetes lol. its crazy lol but they are also incredably mentaly strong. they put their minds together and use there beautiful land that they live on to make a ood and healthy living for them and there family. they think about the ghildren and all of those to come after them. they are just so incredably sweet and loving people who took all 13 of us in and just took the best care of us that they could have. i am really happy we got to go with open mins and see the true meaning of being one community and working as one body to get things done right.

this trip has made me re think how i liove in portland. when i get back im really going to try hard to stop wasting things like water and electrity. and im going to try to convince my family and friends to do they same thing. im really glad i got to experiance this.

……………………

Elizabeth~

There are so many things I can say about the sarayaku people but im going to start by telling you about one of the coolest things I obsereved. The people work as one if they need help with anything. The community is there to back them up. They have these ceramonies called mingas. A minga is when the whole village comes together to build a structure, it could be a house or canoe or somthing small like somewhere to kick it at. I thought it was cool when we went to the minga where all the sarayaku people came together to repair the trails,roads and bridges.

A minga

This place is so family oriented. I have never seen people love so much for one another. I feel like they have such a strong connections with nature and a positive outlook on life and maybe that is why they are so close. I like how they fight for their land and protect it from oil companies. Just like Chief Seattle said, we need the jungle to breathe and if we cut it down there is no way we can servive with just having money.

One thing i learned from the people in Sarayaku is that i can make a change. I´m taking a lot away from this trip but i´d say the most important thing is knowing change can start with me. I know i myself can change my habbits for the better and protect the environment by not littering and polluting etc. but that i can also spread the word to my friends and family and hope to make the same change in them. I also feel the need to open my eyes to different groups that about conserving our environment and also try to get others involved. I will definatly change my habbits, and ultimatly i hope to open others eyes and have them spread the word to because conserving the world is very important to me.

………………….

Andrew~

For about 20 years many oil companies around the world had tried to drill for oil in a beautiful part of the Amazon called Sarayaku. Fortunately the oil companies were confronted by the Sarayaku people and had no choice but to leave. For many years the people of Sarayaku have protected their natural resources, food and water supplies, and the forest itself. Even though I wasnt feeling good during the week, just staying in one area I can see how beautiful Sarayaku is. The people in this area do not depend on money in order to live, but instead they depend on their natural resources around them. They also work as a community instead of independently. Even for profit and greed I dont see how anyone can just destroy such a beautiful place for limited supply of oil.

What I learn from this trip to Sarayaku is that we can work better as a community rather individually.

………….

Adrian~

After spending a week living the life of the Sarayaku people, I have learned alot, tested my mind and body, and done things out of my comfort zone. just the trip there to Sarayaku was a wild adventure. I was excited but nervous, scared but joyous, confused and yet filled with an optimistic certaintly that everything would be alright. The trip there was approximately 7 hours, including a long drive and seemingly never-ending, bumpy canoe ride, made me realize how much patience and strength the Sarayaku have to be so independent and secluded from the city and city-people.

Upon arrival here, it was a feeling of relaxation and accomplishment to finally place my feet on land. But that feeling didnt last long because when we were welcomed we were told that we had a 30-40 minute hike awaiting us to reach our cabins. just this hike was a huge mental and physical challenge that tested myself along with the rest of the Pangaea team. The terrain was very slick and slippery, with mud and alot of up and down hills and steps. I saw how easy it was for a young sarayaku child, Pablo, to hike bare-foot in the dark with a box of eggs as heavy as him. I learned that the people there are in great physical shape and I noticed on these numerous hikes we took I along with all the team would be sweating buckets while our local guides would barely break a sweat.

I learned how the Sarayaku hold Mengas, which are community organized gatherings called by a family or individual in the community, to address a need for someone. In some cases, they organize to build a home, a canoe, etc for a family or person in need of these things. We saw how hard 40-60 Sarayaku men, women, and children worked to help a family that needed a canoe. And after all that hard strenuous work, we saw how hard the people can party and celebrate the work over the work they accomplished. And boy did they celebrate, by the women dancing nonstop, and the men beating the drums continuously. I even got to do a lil drumming myself! I saw how hard it could rain in the Amazon, and how good a bath in the river could feel LOL. Saw how many bug bites one man could get on his body by looking at Ari´s arms and back! And saw how good the Pangaea crew looks with the black ink that the Sarayaku traditionally design on their faces.

But most importantly, I learned that the Sarayaku people are an extremely resourceful and peace-seeking people. They use the best of their land in the best way, and don´t pollute and destroy the Amazon, but rather preserve it. These people are independent and dont focus on money, but rather find the success in life as being a family and community and getting along together. They not only are concerned with themselves and passing their own message of perseverance and struggle, but are a people who study the world and their surroundings, and are following through with a mission to preserve the Amazon rainforest for the entire world. They are fighters and warriors for their people and land, and strive to keep their land safe and pass it down to their children. They are a people who have pride in their physical health and do so much walking and hiking in their communities. They are so friendly and welcoming and treated us like their family, and fed us great healthy food.

They believ in a message of truth, and organizing against injustices and failures of equal human rights. They believe we are all one family on this Earth, whether black, white, brown, red or yellow, they believe we should treat each other as equals and treat the Earth with respect and take care and preserve it. For if we cut down all the trees and vegetation, we cant eat the money. And they stand for much more than money…but values, pride, community, love. Theres so much more I could say about these people, but I anyone interested in learning more of these people, I surely encourage you to look the Sarayaku people up and even someday visit their land.

What I have learned and will take with me to Portland….I have learned to not take for granted all of the opportunities that I have in Portland. For that small amount of time that I spent in Sarayaku, I appreciated all of the things I have at home so much more. I will definitely take a thankfulness and gratidute for all that I have back to Portland, and share the experiences I have so that we all can realize this. I will also take with me the will and energy to organize and be a voice of the youth. These Sarayaku people are such hardworkers and are tireless, and I feel that with all the opportunities and resouces I have, I will have a drive to be as busy as I can in having a voice in a change in the world. I also jus want to learn as much as I can, and strengthen my skills and abilities even more. I want to gain so much in my arsenal, from taking spanish classes, to reading more, and even taking swimming and guitar lessons lol. And I want to take with me the spirit to spread the message of the Sarayaku people and spread the truth, and be more active and involved in my community.

………………………

Elizabeth~

It was about a 5 hour canoe trip to Sarayaku. It got dark, our boat stopped working for a couple minutes, and we got stuck a couple times. When we arrived, it was a vicious hour long hike to our cabins. The hike was full of steep, muddy hills. When we arrived to our place, i noticed taranchulas on the ceiling and i was petrefied! Honestly, i thought there was no way i´d enjoy this trip!

During the stay, there was a lot of crucial hikes! But really, they were all worth it! We were invited to two Mingas and participated. We learned a Minga is when the whole community comes together for one cause and that cause helps the community. The first Minga was to move a canoe from the area it was made, to the river. The second Minga was to repair the trails. It was amazing to see everyone happily work together and work hard and all for thier community. After the second Minga, we were invited to the party afterwards. It was so much fun! There was a lot of dancing and drumming and everyone was just so social, happy, friendly and welcoming.

We also talked to community leaders and learned about thier struggle with oil companies and how they didn´t have the support of thier government because even the military stood behind these oil companies but still the people of Sarayaku stood up to them and were successful in chasing them off.

I learned so much from this trip and enjoyed it alot and i´m left soooo inspired by these people. I´d say something i´m going to take away from my Sarayaku experience is i´m not going to be so materialistic. These people are some of the most strong, intelligent and proud people i´ve ever met and they have barely anything. I realize i shouldn´t strive to have the newest stuf or nice things just to look good. I now really don´t see the point in spending so much money on cloths, shoes, electronics etc. Like our guide Luis said, success to him is just being with his community having a good time. The Sarayaku only depend on themselves, their community as one, the river and the plants and animals around them, and they couldn´t be happier.

………………….

Isabel~

River in Sarayaku

We have been living among the Sarayaku for four days now, and every moment I spend interacting with these people I recognize the amount of strength and pride they show for themselves and their way of life. They have successfully resisted the oil company CGC in order to protect their surrounding environment that provides them with so much and continue to save the rest of the world with their constantly breathing “lungs of the earth”.

I believe the rest of the world needs to understand the fact that the people of this community are raised with an awareness of everything bigger than themselves. And they keep this knowledge with them throughout their everyday life. They are proud to live in a place that is so important to this planets´ survival.

When I return to Portland I hope to hold on to some of the awareness they have so graciously shared with me. I want to my community to gain this awareness and use it in their everyday lives as well, no matter how far away they may live from our green, prosperous source of air.

……………………

Rasheed~

I think what the people back in Portland should kñow about Sarayacu is that they are a community thats trying to survive and they don´t just care about themselves and their family, but they care for everyone in their community. They are not afraid to stand up for what they beleve in, they don´t like people comming into their community and telling them what to do and how to live. For the past 4 days we´ve been in Sarayacu amd i´ve learned alot. I learned the real meaning of a minga, but in my interpretation it´s similar to a party, but only a traditional type. I learned that their means for transportation is walking to get to their destination. For me, the first time we took a walk to get to where we needed to go I thought to myself how do they do it, but then I realized that they´ve been doing this for a long time and if you just don´t think about how long the walk is you can do it to. Overall I think Sarayacu is a great place to visit, but there is a couple things you would need to adjust to and as soon as you do I bet you´ll like it just as much as I did, but hey don´t take my word for it.

I think something that I should bring back to Portland from this experience is being more community based and what I mean by that is thinking about other peoople and their struggles instead of just my family, myself and my struggles

…………………..

Dan~

Sarayacu

Organizing is one of the most difficult things to do! The Sarayacu have found a way to use this technique to prevent oil companies and other big business for destroying their land! Today, Sarayacu is a gorgeous area filled with life from both the people and species surrounding it! While in Sarayacu we were apart of a Minga!

Minga is a member from the community calls a pond the community for help. The Community gathers together and helps that person. When the they are done they Celebrate their accomplishment together!

The most important idea or fundamental I’m going to take away from this experience is the importance of working together!!! The Sarayacu are not just ensuring a better way of life for them, but the world. The Three best words to describe are BOLD, STRONG, AND WISE!

Departing the Amazon by plane

This experience has given me a lot of motivation! Just seeing how resource full the Sarayacu are makes me realize how grateful I should be. Before this trip I would Come to school late a lot even through I lived about 40 minutes away from my school. The Sarayacu has to walk at least an hour to there and back to get to school! WOW! The Sarayacu just amazing me by this!!!! This will stick with me for life.

INTAG: Intag, Apuela…

A note from the Directors:

For the third year in a row, Pangaea has brought our students to the beautiful Intag region of northern Ecuador, a mountainous cloud forest that is considered the single richest biological hotspot on the planet, containing approximately 15-17% of the world’s plant species and nearly 20% of its bird diversity. Last week, Pangaea students traveled to this region to learn about a community of farmers who have spent the last 10 years protecting their land from a multi-national copper mining company that has threatened to strip-mine the land and contaminate the rivers with toxic waste. The people of Intag serve as one of the best examples in the world of community organizing, grassroots leadership, and dedication and commitment to the environment…

………………………………………..

Shelby~

now that were here in ecuador we have experianced many new and interesting things. the culture here is very different then in north america. here people are really friendly and all talk to each other, in north america are more like i have to get to know you before we can be friends.

mingas are really important to the people here in ecuador. a minga is when one town really needs help and all the surrounding towns combine together to get what needs to be done. when your in minga or you call a minga you must return the favor, you must go and help another town that is in need of help.

for instance in junin, ecuador they were fighting off ascendent, a copper mining company, who were trying to force them to give up and sell this really beautiful land that many lived on so they can mine there. some people gave in and sold their land and moved to the cities near by. most people in junin stayed and fought for their rights to there land and to a good living.

Shelby, Mesha & Isabel

while the people of junin were working on fighting for their rights, ascendent was bribing the gaverment and the police to not enforce the enviormantal laws. the govemant and the police took the bribes and backed off of ascendent. ascendect also bribed the paramilitary to go and scare the people of junin.

when paramilitary got envolved the people of junin were not scared. even thought once the paramilitary came to the gate of junin (which was built to keep the ascendnt company out) and were telling them they had to let them in. junin wasnt about to let them in. so they call a minga and 100 people from all of intag (the regin in which junin is in) came to help them fight off the paramilitary.

the people of junin are not violent peoiple. their leader, polivio, told them, ¨ dont use violence unless they use violence first¨ thier leader is a very good insperation to all. we met him on 7.10.08 and it was really good to meet him and here what he had to say.

thanks to all the people within intag, the junin people were successful in fighting off the paramilitary. even thought the paramilitary used violence against them liek using maise and hitting them with sticks. the towns came together and combined their forces and convinced the paramilitary to back off.

this insadent relates to pangaea by relating to the solidarity piece we learned about in our world class section. this really impacted me because it showed me how a really good leader and sticking to your word can take you a long way.

Dan~

Dan with Rasheed leaving Portland

The most impactful moment for me was visiting Intag, Ecuador!!!! Intag is a very beautiful place. There lots of forest areas perfect for hiking or any outdoor actives! If you think Oregon´s forests are beautiful you will think Intag´s forests are magnificent. The people here in Intag are very strong and brave! The group DECOIN was formed by the community to stop Bishimetals (Mishibishi Corp) and Ascendent Copper Mining Corp (Canadian Corp) for mining in the Intag reigon. Their hard work and perserverance stopped both Bishimetal and Ascendent Copper Corp from destroying their land!WOO HOOO! GO DECOIN!

Today, Intag has a ecoturism operation called Nangulvi that is there to sto`p the community from relying on big bussiness corperations for a source of income! Nangulvi has been very sucessful and continues to grow! How does this relate to Pangaea? Well first off let me tell you Pangaea´s Pillars: Grassroot Leadership,Social Justice, and Global Perspective! This is how DECOIN fits all three of our Pillars!

Grassroot Leadership: Community members stepped up to Bishimetals and Ascendent and refused the companies bribes to leave their land!

Social Justice: The community members at first didnt know their rights, but they learned their rights to protect there land!

Global Perspective: The people of Intag took a negitive situation and made it to a positive by starting their own Eco Tourist Hostal(Nangulvi) to attract westerners! So they can supprot their community!

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Elizabeth~

It was the 9th, the fifth day and i would say this was the best day yet!
During the evening, we watched a movie in the restaraunt area of the hostel we were staying in. The video was about the struggle the locals were going through trying to fight off the mining companies who were coming in and destroying their land for copper. We learned they chased a japanese copper mining company out by having marches that the whole community participated in, and eventually they wound up burning down the companys camp so they left. Then, a new company came in from Canada. This company was called Acendant and they were dirty fighters! They made false law suits agianst the community members who led the people in fighting agianst the company. They also did things like blocked roads to community meetings, pepper sprayed and acted in violence when being denied into the community, made death threats, the big thing they did is bribe the community by offering them hundreds of thousands of dollars for their land, and told the community they´d build them a school if they were allowed to mine. Some community members gave in and took the bribes, thus turning some community members agianst each other. How ever, most of the community continued to fight and denied the bribes. Eventually, they chased out Acendent as well, but it wasn´t as easy as it had been before.

There´s no way anyone could hear the communitys story about their fight and not call them grassroot leaders. These people had never been involved in conflict and didn´t know how to react at first. They say the key thing is to organize and work together. How they picked themselves up was by opening a coffee shop where they make coffee and now have 300 farms growing coffee beans and this place exports coffee to other countries, building hotels to attract tourists, and having womens groups that make hand crafts to sell. By doing this, they bring money into thier community so the community can grow and the people won´t feel the need to let in mining companies because the companies offer jobs. These people really worked from the bottom up! There were no loans involved in the building of these places.

I really look up to these people for fighting so hard and ending in success but also for turning down the bribes even though the people all were low income and had been trying hard to make a school but were struggling. I learned so much that night about the people of Intag, about thier strength and dedication to their land. I think i can speak for everyone when i say the movie was touching and the people are very inspirational!

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Roger~

The first breath of air reminded my lungs of what fresh felt like. Apuela, Ecuador is a cloudy forest paridise, hidden in the mountains. Its beauty is difficult to describe with words, but I´ll try my best to describe it as if I were to look around from a stationary point.
Children, two to a bamboo stick, run around laughing on their imaginary horses while volleyball with an Ecuadorian twist catches my competitive interest. The sweet, vague scent of organic homemade food streams through my nostrils to linger softly upon my taste buds, making me get close to the feeling I get when my mom cooks. (Nothing will ever top or meet the greatness of my mom´s food, but it was close…)

“Hola” (Hello)
“¿Que tal?” (How are you?)
“Bien, bien” (Good, good)
–A common greeting occuring on every passing.

Cabañas (Cabins), our temporary homes to rest in, stand barely fifteen feet away from a strong and wealthy river.
The sun warms our senses just like the people here and I feel I don´t deserve this at all.
To me, these families of farm workers and laborers are more advanced than any western lifestyle I´ve ever experienced, because they feed the land that feeds them in return, completely coinciding with nature. In the community, they have a party type of thing that they call a minga, which is when the community gets together to maybe build a house for a family. They basically help each other out as a close family would, food as a sort of payment or “Thank you”.

My organically growing global perspective has already blossmed a desire to be more like these people and I sort of feel like ditching the group to experience this for a much longer time, but no…I´ll just make the most with what time I have left. (about 27 more days =] yesss)

A note from the Directors:

Group in a central square of Quito

The Ecuador Team spent their first few days in Quito learning about Environmental Justice issues in Ecuador, and meeting people who are working on solutions to the problems their communities face. While in Quito, the students visited Alinambi, the school for street children where the 2007 Pangaea Team spent 6 days building a bathhouse out of cement. While there, they had a chance to learn about the important global issue of homelessness, meet with the incredible people who started the program, witness the dedication that the formerly homeless street youth now have to their education, and see the results of last years’ Pangaea Teams’ hard work.

Each year, the students have the opportunity to meet with the dedicated leaders of the movement to protect the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador at an organization called Accion Ecologica (www.accionecologica.org.) At the headquarters of Accion Ecologica in Quito, the 2008 students attended a meeting and watched a powerful slide show about the impact that 30 years of oil drilling in the Amazon has had on the people and the land. This week, July 13-20, the students will travel to different parts of the Amazon rainforest to witness the situation firsthand, and meet with inspirational community leaders, some of whom are only 21 years old, who are working tirelessly to protest their land and ways of life…

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Isabel~

Four days ago we visited Alinambi, a school for kids that are orphans, come from poor families that incapable of funding their education or are unwanted. The school has a big gate infront, Pangaea must be welcomed by Lorenzo (the founder) to be enter. The first thing I see is a young boy sitting by himself on a rusted swingset. He slowly moves himself back and forth and my first instinct is to take a picture, but I leave him in his solitude. (I learn later that taking pictures of any of the children that attend the school is prohibited) I look further out into the open field and see another small boy with a large stick in his hand and at his feet a pile of garbage. He´s lit it on fire and is looking at us with curiousity and fear. On the opposite side of me are small buildings painted different colors. They look well, but nothing like you would see in Portland. We are led to the center of these buildings, what looks like a courtyard. Lorenzo begins to tell us the history of the school and Kelly kindly translates. The information is interesting, but I am consistently being distracted by the sound of children running, screaming and chasing after their patient yet brave comrade the dog. I still have not adjusted to the use of spanish everywhere I go, so I notice that too.

But when I see a mural on the wall shaped like a tree covered with the kids´ handprints and saying things about the success children deserve and the love they need in order to love themselves I realize how truly important this school is. I go to Open Meadow alternative high school which has given many teenagers a second chance at their education. There aren´t many schools like it in the United States and I appreciate that I have gotten the opportunity to go there. Visiting a school in Ecuador for kids less fortunate gives me hope that education will soon become more important to society. And meeting people that have created programs like this from the ground up inspire me to become an even better grassroots leader. Like the name of the school, Alinambi, this is a good road.

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Adrian~

There has been so much that has impacted me over this first week here in Ecuador! From touring around the city of Ecuador and trying various different Ecuadorian foods, to hiking up a 1,000 ft. mountain for three hours. This has been an amazing experience and something that I´ll remember for the rest of my life!

One thing that really impacted me was when we visited Accion Ecologica, a non-profit organization for environmental activism in Quito. This was a meeting in which Marcello, one of the members and organizers of the organization spoke to us and gave us information about the organization and what they are currently doing to fight for human rights and justice for the Indigenous people and their land. At the end of the meeting we watched a video portraying the damage and heart-ache done to Indigenous people and their land by the oil-company Texaco. The video had so much content and information in it, and showed so much dramatic imagery involving the disaster of the contaminiation of rivers and land. As I watched the 20-minute long video documentary, I looked around and saw the faces of my Pangaea team-mates. I saw many distraught faces, many tears falling, and even felt some accumulating in my eyes. The video showed how the oil-company contaminated the land. How the rivers and water-sources that the Indigenous families used for drinking water, to bathe in and the children to freely play in turned into areas that would later dramatically effect the health and lively hood of many of the people. parents would begin to see rashes and sores on their children, others would later get cancer, and some even pass away due to this deadly carelessness on the behalf of Texaco.

Adrian at the Otavalo market

After watching this video, it really opened my eyes and mind to see the numerous injustices and neglect of human rights that are occuring all around the world today. I think everyone should see that video, and specifically the people of the U.S.A. I think watching this video really ties in with international inspiration, because after viewing this it inspired me to really be conscious of global injustices and be aware of what is happening in other parts of the world, and be compelled to do all I can to make a change for the better! Right now we´re in Otavalo, and enjoying and loving every minute of it! so blessed to be here, and can´t wait to come back and share my experiences with everyone in Portland!

Gracias for reading, catch yáll on the next blog.

adios, beunas noches.

Rasheed~

One experience that I had since being in Ecuador was going to downtown Quito for a festival that they were having, but it was more of a traditional dancing. I heard music, children dancing and lots of people speaking their Ecuadorian language. I saw people dressed up in costumes dancing like there was no tommorow. I even got to pet a horse and this time it didn´t kick me.

This experience impacted me alot because you rarely get to see anything like that in the states. In my point of view this experience would have to connect to global perspective because your seeing things from a diffrerent point of view.

Mesha~

Something that has really affected me here in Ecuador so far is the people from the Intag region. The people are so strong!!!! Forming Decoin and joining together as a community to fight the mining communities was/is so brave! The fact that they were able to do that is truly amazing to me. People in the United States generally dont know how to fight for what they want. We never seem to be able to form together. Decoin is a grassroots organization that is still fighting to keep the area of Intag from being mined for copper. They are against copper mining because the damage it does to the environment. Some exammples of this are the pollution of the air, water and the killing of animals. Not to mention the fact that the families would all eventually be forced to relocate. They want there children, grandchildren, and great grand children to all beable to live in a clean environment.

Kelsi~

First walk around Quito

I have had so many good times here and they were all experiences that I will remember for the rest of my life. But there is one in particular that really sticks out to me and that was when I saw this little girl on the street asking to shine people´s shoes. I felt so bad when she came to me and asked me if she could shine my shoes. I gave her a dollar but afterward she wasn´t happy or anything. She acted as if it was her job and that confused me. So after that we went and ate lunch.

While I was eating lunch I could not stop thinking about that little girl. After lunch we were on our way to the bus and I saw the little girl againand I tried talking to her but she wouldn´t talk back so I told her goodbye in spanish and gave her my pen. I have never seen someone (definitely not a kid) get so excited over a pen. Then I turned away and looked back and she had pulled up her sleeve to write on her hands. I took a glance at what she was writing and it said MJ6 so I am still wondering what it means and to will always be a mystery.

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Andrew~

One experience that happen during this trip is the hiking trip on a mountain about 6000 feet up. It was a very hot and tiring experience andf when you get higher, the cooler it gets. It was very green and the view was beautiful at the top of the mountain, you could see all of Apuela. At the bottom you can hear the roar of the river and as you climb up higher, you can hear different kinds of animals and bugs.

How this experience impacted me was the fact that it took 6 hours for us to climb up and down. It would take an average Ecuadorian easily half of the time. Everyday kiuds would climb the mountain because there is a school on top. To think that little kids walk up a mountain that high just to go to school. If I had to do that, I will drop out of school instantly.

This experience is an example of one of the three Pangaea pillars. For those who dont know the three pillars, they are social justice, global perspective, and grassroot leadership. The experience connect to the social justice pillar. It connects to this pillar because despite the many challenges the Ecuadorians face while climbing the mountain, they still climb it everyday so they can get a decent education.

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The Ecuador Team with Open Meadow School Directors Michael Hoover and Rosemary Donnelly

Two days after their friends on the Thailand team departed, the Ecuador group arrived at PDX early on July 5th after a night of fireworks and little sleep. They arrived safely in Quito at 3am the next morning and prepared for a day touring the city and visiting the equator.

Buon viaje to Kelsi, Isabel, Elizabeth, Shelby, Andrew, Flor, Rasheed, Dan, Adrian, Mesha and Roger, and their Team Leaders, Ari and Kelly.