Visiting the Amazon

One stop on my trip was at a homestay in the Amazon near Tena. We got to see the jungle and learn about indigenous culture from our host family.

The most exciting thing I did was climb a waterfall. There was lots of support and ropes and I’m proud of my first (and possibly last) moments of rock climbing.

We also got to make chocolate! One of Ecuador’s more recent economic success stories is that instead of just growing and harvesting cocoa beans, the country has begun to process and produce the finished product making a more valuable export.

One thing you may not know is that Ecuador’s largest export is petroleum and till now lots of that oil came from deep in the Amazon. The big news is that in August there was a referendum and 60% voted to stop the oil drilling there. While drilling will still be allowed in other areas of the country, this is a BIG change and it led to interesting conversations about oil production, jobs, trade with China and the surprising success of the indigenous campaign to preserve the rainforest. In grad school I got to meet a number of Ecuadorian indigenous leaders who were in NY to address the UN on this issue. It feels exciting that they are finding success and hopefully it will force better extraction practices elsewhere too.