Bibliotecas, Cooperativas, y Fiestas

Although things are starting to slow down a bit in December before the impending holiday break, the past month has been an interesting mixture of the usual busy schedule along with some unique developments. Several weeks ago, I finally completed one of our big micro-finance goals for the first half of my year here. In that time, we've been working with our community partner, the Cooperativa Esperanza y Progreso del Valle (EPV), on their application to the Red Financiera Rural (RFR). The RFR is a network of Ecuadorian micro-finance institutions that helps its member institutions obtain funding for their micro-credit operations. Additionally, the RFR offers a consulting service to its members seeking to improve their operations and institute industry best practices. Because RFR membership would greatly enhance EPV's micro-credit component, I have been actively pushing them to apply for months and helping them acquire all necessary materials. My efforts finally culminated when I accompanied EPV's manager, Fabián Gualotuña, into to Quito to formally submit the complete application. We should hear back soon from the RFR, so hopefully it will be good news!

Our library project has been the other big area to which I've been devoting a large amount of my time lately. Starting in early November, I began background research on logistics and general library operations in developing countries, searched for funds, and completed a formal project proposal to keep us on track and outline our plan to donors and community partners. After the first stage was completed, Mark and I began discussing our ideas with community leaders. The response so far has been promising; the leaders of EPV immediately jumped on board with the project and have been very supportive ever since.

Future Home of the Chillos Valley Public Library

This past Thursday evening, we finally had a meeting with 15 interested citizens who are a part of EPV's Committee on Education. The locals present included EPV's president and manager, lenders and partners of the cooperative, neighborhood presidents and vice-presidents, concerned parents, and other community leaders. Honestly, I was slightly shocked as we walked into the meeting to see over a dozen such community members in attendance. After Fabián introduced us, we discussed our ideas for the project and answered their questions, most of which were thought-provoking and practical. In the end though, they were all behind the project and really seemed to like the idea.

In the next two weeks, we are all going to continue searching for locals willing to take an active role in the project and will hold the first meeting of the Library Committe in mid-December. After our holiday break ends in early January, we will collect books and other materials. Assuming everything stays on schedule, the Chillos Valley's first public lending library will open in March 2009 just in time for the arrival of spring break volunteer groups.

And as if this excitement hasn't been enough to keep us energized, the last few weeks have also been full of many chévere (cool) cultural outings around Quito. From relaxing in high-altitude hot springs, eating my inaugural coconut-encrusted Ecuadorian trout, soaking up the excitement of my first Latin American soccer match, and witnessing bullfights south of the equator for the first time, I've been lucky to be a part of many new cultural events recently. And more is still to come, as the week is the annual Fiestas de Quito, celebrating Quito's independence from Spain, with festivals all over the city. As the local cry says, Viva Quito!

If you would like to consider donating to the library project, please email me at dunc@mannaproject.org for more information.

Fiesta Fiesta

In lieu of a brand-new entry this time around, I decided to provide the link to MPI-Ecuador's daily life blog. For those of you who haven't read it, I guest-blogged this week about a party we had on Wednesday for families of the students in our Apoyo Escolar class.

In other news, I hope to write an update soon about all the progress we've been making recently with plans to open the Chillos Valley's first public lending library. We're all very excited about the project and have received some encouraging support recently from the community about the library idea. More to come on that soon!

Uniquely Ecuador

Considering it's been over 3 weeks since my last entry, I thought it was due time to write another one. Although the small business class is now finished, the last few weeks have been anything but calm. I've started doing research and planning into our Library Project, which aims to create the first public lending library in the Valle de los Chillos. Additional house and administrative duties have recently been divided up after last week's departure of the final PD from the first year's group. Also, we have started up two new classes: Beginner's English for young adults, and Women's Exercise, headed by Jocelyn and all the girls respectively. The English class contains 15 students at the moment and filled with joys such as trying to explain how to properly pronounce the word purple. No, it's not said, "perpel" and unfortunately, there are no similar sounds in Spanish. And although, the Women's Exercise class is strictly "no boys allowed," the girls assure it's off to a great start. With over 20 women ages 15 to 68, there is wide variety and apparently a plentiful amount of laughter present as these women attempt work-out videos and yoga for the first time in their lives. On that note, I decided the best way to end this entry would be to provide everyone with a list of strange things I've seen and lived in the past 3 and a half months of being in Ecuador. Enjoy.



Things Uniquely Ecuadorian

- Eating $1.50 almuerzos (lunch) at a typical restaurant. Oh and you don't get any choice about what the serve you.
- Seeing a cow give birth outside of the Casa Barrial where we teach classes.
- Walking out of our not-so rural house to see a herd of cows grazing in our front yard.
- Surviving the now daily torrential downpours.
- Skinning cow legs destined for soup at our community partner, la Fundación Aliñambi.
- Surfing "high-speed internet" that, although it costs fully 1/3 of the monthly rent for our house, completely shuts down if someone is using Skype or watching videos on Youtube.
- Getting used to 10-hour Ecuadorian night buses (even longer during the day) between cities that are only 200 miles apart. Which cost $8.
- Summiting a mountain a month on average.
- Living in mountains twice as high as Denver while being less than 100 miles from both the beach and the Amazonian rain forest.
- Finding electricity-free activities during the weekly power outages.
- Watching Ecuadorians' awe-struck reactions to our house vegetarian as he explains what that actually means. "But you eat chicken though, right? Well, what about fish?"
- Trying to overcome our awe-struck reactions as we continually are baffled as to where all the tasty cuts of beef are sent in this country. They must be either exported or thrown out because they're clearly not sold to the public.
- Viewing stubborn Ecuadorian country maps that still dispute the location of the Peruvian border which was re-drawn after losing its war with Peru. Which ended in in 1942.
- Coming to the slow realization that dinner preparation takes 3 hours on average since everything must be made from scratch here. Meaning it's impossible to find delicacies such as canned soup, tomato juice, pie crust, tomato sauce, blueberries, dried fruit, pumpkins, and most spices.
- There are no jalapeños in this Latin American country. Period. (Which of course correspondingly affects Ecuadorian "Tex-Mex.")
- Living without seasons (besides dry and wet.)
- Trying a new fruit weekly.
- Discovering that the yellow South American spiky fruit known as pitahaya (dragonfruit) is the world's best fruit. Ever.
- Forgetting how to say things in English. Like the confusing phrase "ring a doorbell."
- Loving the 4 different kinds of bananas coming in 3 different colors and 2 different sizes, all of which are far tasty than their US counterparts.
- Realizing it is impossible to buy a movie or CD that isn't pirated and doesn't cost more than $3 to purchase.
- Feeling a strange mix of pride and jealously when I walk by the Ecuadorian-based fast food response to KFC: "Texas Chicken."

Fotos Empresariales

To add to my last entry, I thought I'd add some pictures I just uploaded from the small business class. Enjoy!

Brainstorming business ideas


Team-building exercise


Presentation Day with all of MPI present to watch (side note: Ignore Mark's sleepy appearance; he actually asked several insightful questions during the presentations)


Presenatation of business plan for a real estate agency


Participants with their diplomas

The Entrepreneurial Challenge

I've be meaning to write this entry for a week or two now, but as so often happens down here, things kept coming up. I hope in the meantime, you enjoyed my guest blog entry on MPI-Ecuador's daily life blog, although admittedly it was much more light-hearted than most of my blogging. My last two or three weeks have been very busy to say the least and almost completely occupied with our microfinance program.

It all started several weeks ago when Mark and I met with the Center for Innovation and Business Development at the local university, ESPE. The center focuses on aiding entrepreneurs and teaches a class about basic business planning, which seemed perfectly aligned with the goals of our microfinance program. In cooperation with our community financial cooperative, COAC Esperanza y Progreso del Valle (Hope and Progress of the Valley), we agreed to organize the 40-hour class to start mid-September, continuing over a 2-week period.

As evidenced by MPI's community surveys this spring, our community contains literally hundreds of people wanting to start small businesses. The two biggest obstacles facing these potential entrepreneurs were found to be start-up capital and a need for reinforcement of their entrepreneurial skills. Fortunately, this small business class were overcome both of these issues. First, it would cover entrepreneurial characteristics, formulation of business ideas, marketing, production, administration, and the creation of a business plan. Secondy, we convinced Esperanza y Progreso del Valle to give micro-loans to successful participants of the class. As such, class "graduates" would attain all the necessary skills and capital required to create a small business.

Over the course of the next week and a half, I worked in conjunction with the co-op, recruiting participants for the class. After fighting the heat of the afternoon Ecuadorian sun (which I now miss since the rainy appears to have begun), walking countless miles around the community, and even battling several mean dogs whose teeth luckily were stopped by my shoes and jeans, I finally helped secure about 20 people for the class.

The first day of class was last Monday and ran smoothly. The President and manager of the co-op came for an opening ceremony along with Mark, the MPI-Ecuador Director. The professors were engaging and professional, driving the students to actively participate and demonstrate their creativity, both of which are rare in the Ecuadorian education system. The class participants were diverse in a variety of ways: men and women, ages 19-47, college graduates to those who hadn't completed primary education. My hope were high from the beginning that they would intermingle well and learn from each as well.

However, set-backs appeared the second day. Three of our participants in particular seemed very nervous the first day. All three of them hadn't made it to high school and seemed to have trouble reading and writing. Even after spending the first day trying to encourage them, understandably they all seemed intimidated by the class. Sure enough, the second day two of them didn't show. After having my phone calls repeatedly ignored by them, I disappointedly got the message.

Even so, all in all the remaining participants are very dedicated, eager to learn, and optimistic. The third participant I mentioned above has remained in the class and has, in fact, progressed greatly. Oscar in now confident speaking in front the class, takes detailed notes, and seems comfortable interacting with even the most educated of the participants.

The biggest strength of the class is how much it engaging it is for the participants. Every day the participants partake in at least one hands on-activity to practice what they have learned. This has varied from brainstorming sessions of business ideas, a production simulation of three envelope companies to a fruit salad seminar teaching about costs, depreciation, and investment choices. With only a few days to go in the class, I am confident that many of the participants will at least leave strengthened by what they have learned. Several will likely start up a small business quickly. One couple, Alfredo and Jenny Caiza, has already formulated a detailed version of the business they want to open, which has changed as they have learned from the course. Although their success after the culmination of the class will depend almost entirely on themselves, I know they will be successful based on their achievement in these two weeks.

La Charla Constitucional

While morning Quito meetings can often seem slightly intimidating, this morning I rode the bus into town containing only excitement. Instead of reviewing the appropriate Spanish vocab in my head, pondering the superior amount of work experience possessed by the people on the other side of the gathering, and wondering about the quantity of people that would be at the meeting, today I could relax knowing that I would only be listening. After several meetings at Quito's prominent Fundación Esquel, Mark and I were invited to a charla (chat) at the organization's headquarters concerning the issue of economic modernization in Ecuador's proposed Constitution.

One of the great parts about working in a capital city in a developing country is the accessibility of top public figures. In contrast to bomb-sniffing dogs and dark-suited Secret Service agents to which we have become so accustomed stateside, one of Ecuador's most prominent politicians simply strolled into the small room before the start of the discussion. On the (far) left sat Alberto Acosta, the former head of the Asamblea Constituyente, whose name has been tossed around as a probable candidate in Ecuador's next presidential election (whenever that may be.) Acosta recently resigned his post as the head of the body in charge of designing the new Constitution after deciding the process was being overly rushed.

Luckily for those of us who were not experts on the new Constitution, Acosta spent a great deal of time discussing its broader social goals. From naming approximately 15 basic human rights (including the right to a job) to discussing the perils of privatization in light of Ecuador's grave 2000 financial crisis to the wide range of free government services, the proposed Constitution's socialist agenda was strikingly clear in Acosta's comments. A less-seasoned politician, Andres Vallejo, spoke next in the debate and illustrated his blunt reservations about the Constitution. His biggest complaints included concern for an inflated government bureacracy, failure in the proper application of its wide-ranging goals, and fear of the immense governmental centralization that it would provide.

Leaving the meeting, I started thinking about the vast contrast between the Ecuadorian politicians, their substantial political goals, and the common Ecuadorians with which we work. As a temporary resident in a foreign country, it surely isn't my place to influence voters' opinions about the proposed Constitution. However, it is goal-worthy to make sure an informed and politically-engaged electorate exists. Sitting down back at home this afternoon, I began to think of ways to achieve this goal before the Constitutional Referendum in late September, so with any luck maybe we'll be able to craft such a program by then.

Thanks for reading, and please click here if you would like to donate!

A Conocoto

It's been just over two weeks since we moved into the Manna House in Conocoto and about as long since my last blog entry. So far, everything's been great in the Manna-land that is our house in Conocoto. Between the proximity of our community programs and getting to know everyone better to the simpler pleasures of cooking for overselves and ever-present (usually) internet access, our first two weeks in the house have been good ones. We have been able to enjoy the breath-taking views and serenity of the valley without forgoing Quito's nearby excitement.


Most of our time these past two weeks has been occupied by running a summer camp with one of our community partners, Aliñambi. The organization has been one of our closest partners in the community where we work, and it is very succesful at providing cheap education and healthcare services to the locale of San Fransisco. The five new PDs, along with two of our Ecuadorian friends working in child education, all worked together to host a two-week summer camp. We targeted children ages 5-12, teaching English, math, art, baking, recycling, sports, geography and dental hygiene over the course of the camp.


I started every day by teaching an English class to the oldest group of students and it definitely served as a crash course in teaching for me. I was continually amazed at how smart and willing to learn the students were, yet forever confronted by the difficulty of fighting the early-teenage "too cool for school" attitude of my students. After English class, my mornings were occupied with helping out with the various art, sports, and math classes (and attempting to maintain the short attention span of the always energy-packed kids), while two days I taught dental hygiene and geography classes.

The camp culminated with a field trip to the small amusement park at the base of the mountain overlooking Quito, which was highly anticipated by the children. As the bus entered Quito, many of the kids stared awestruck at the city with wide-eyes. It was at this point that all of the "profes" realized that this was the first trip to Quito for many of the students, even though the sprawling city sits only 20 minutes away from their small semi-rural community. While it's sometimes easy to take traveling for granted, kids always seem to find a way to put things into perspective and reinvigorate your reasons for working in a country like Ecuador.

Bienvenidos a Quito

Well here it is, my long-awaited first blog entry. I've been meaning to set this up for a while now, but have had limited internet access since arriving in Quito. The past 3 weeks, I've been living with a great Ecuadorian family complete with 2 college-age kids and a perrito named Tinto. By the way, I everyone's OK with Spanglish because that's pretty much the closet I get to English down here, it's so much more divertido.

Our first several weeks have been filled with an excellent mix of one-on-one Spanish language instruction, Manna Project (MPI) orientation, and of course, the local tourist activities. We have toured the centro historico, climbed the local basilica, explored local museums, hiked the nearest mountain overlooking the sprawling city of Quito, and gone mountain-biking (luckily downhill most of the way) through the Andes (and a temporary rain-formed lake on the trail...oops.)

The group of new Program Directors (PDs) is an eclectic mix of personalities, and I think we're going to have a great year. Of the 5 new PDs, Jocelyn Lancaster, Eliah McCallah, Holly Ward, Serena Zhou, and I, represented are 4 colleges, a multitude of interests and skills, and converging goals. Dividing our time between after-school help, a health program, English and art classes, and a micro-finance initiative, we should accomplish success in a variety of different fields this year.

On Friday, our group is moving out the official Manna residence in Conocoto, Ecuador. The pueblo is a twenty minute bus ride from Quito in the Valle de los Chillos. We are all very excited to move out to the Manna house, living and working together at a close distance to our program sites. While I have enjoyed Quito, I am particularly ready for the move. The first week we were here, I was robbed in the middle of the day by 2 ladrones. In the process lost a bunch of cash, 2 credit cards, my driver's license, and everything else in my wallet. Although it was very much a sobering experience, on the bright-side I very quickly gained some good ole-fashioned Quito street smarts. Since that incident, I rarely walk alone in the city, am always aware of my surroundings, and am very careful about what valuables I'm carrying. Yes, it is an adjustment from the States, but it just takes some getting used to.



On a brighter note, in general it has been a great experience living in the seat of the nation of Ecuador. The capital city of Quito houses Ecuador's own Casa Blanca, sits between towering green mountains, and enjoys a year-round temperate climate of about 75 degrees (and is very sunny during the summer months.) Another great part of the homestays and living in the capital city is being able to witness Ecuador's political scene up-close instead of reading the occasional page-long Economist article. Ecuador traditionally has been a country of (peaceful) political turmoil, averaging a new constitution every 10 years and, in recent years, a new president every 2 years. Because Ecuador's current leftist president, Rafael Correa, has brought more political stability to the country, the people have been more than happy to give him an incredible amount of power. As a result, he has disbanded the Congress and appointed a Constitutional Assembly to draft a new Constitution, which dominates the news here in a way similar to the presidential race in the U.S. The Constitution will face a popular referendum in September, deciding its fate. Needless to say, it will be a pretty interesting time to be in the country. And it makes U.S. politics look pretty tame , right?


That's about it for now, I hope everyone state-side is doing well. Hopefully I'll be able to update my blog more frequently once we move into the internet-filled Manna house Friday. If anyone wants to subscribe to my blog via email, just send me an email at dunc@mannaproject.org. Hasta pronto!