Jordan Thomas - Ecuador
Transcript of Jordan Thomas - Ecuador
Loca%on: Napo, Ecuador
Tena (le() is a small city on the edge of the Amazon rainforest in the province of Napo. I lived there for half of my summer. Santa Rita (right) is the Kichwa community where I lived for the other half.
Sustainable Timber in the Ecuadorian Amazon Jordan Thomas, Summer 2013
Project Purpose
To increase the monetary and ecological worth of Kichwa agroforestry plots and pastureland by integraIng valuable Imber species Benefits: Provide an alternaIve source of lumber to illegal logging, improve the resilience of the land, provide ecosystems services in degredated land, and sequester CO2
Ques%on Method
Which &mber species will be most valuable to the landowners and to the forest?
Surveyed households in two Kichwa communiIes in order to characterize the Imber market, Imber pracIces, apply knowledge of forestry Researched exisIng literature on life requirements of common Imber species
In which plots will the seedlings be most likely to thrive and improve the condiIon of the land?
Mapped approximately 80 agroforestry and pasture plots of Santa Rita using GPS (below le() Hired and trained community member of Santa Rita in the use of GPS to map agroforestry and pasture plots
Lessons Learned I’m not so sure I know what “development” is • Many adults were happy with the lifestyle of a subsistence
farmer and disliked the idea of living in bigger, city homes. The younger generaIon thought differently.
Illegal deforesta%on and hun%ng are leaving their mark on the rainforest and the people doing it aren’t “criminals”. • For example, venomous snakes pose a serious danger to
Santa Rita community members so they kill any they come across.
Not all cultural differences are preKy • I went in to the summer expecIng to learn new values from
the Kichwa and I did. I also came across values that contradicted my moral code. I tried to put them in context of the generaIons leading up to those decisions.
ONen, it is beKer to do nothing than make a poorly thought out aKempt at change • Members of Kichwa communiIes were disillusioned with
wealthy westerners coming into their community, offering big results, and not following through. Grassroots iniIaIves had infinitely more tracIon
Project Background
Kichwa -‐ The largest indigenous group of Ecuador. The majority of Kichwa in the Napo province of Ecuador live in communiIes between 20-‐120 households in size and are subsistence farmers, occasionally working in town for cash. Agroforestry-‐ A style of agriculture in which crops (used for cash and subsistence) are grown amongst trees and shrubs. The Kichwa tradiIonally grow their crops using organic agroforestry. Runa -‐ Runa is a beverage company that is increasing the profitability of agroforestry by creaIng a market in the United States for Guayusa, a tea plant exclusively grown by the Kichwa.
Looking Forward
I am looking for opportuniIes to live internaIonally, working in development. Through this, I hope to keep being challenged physically, emoIonally, and intellectually by new environments and paradigms, and to develop a skillset to support grassroots iniIaIves.
I owe this summer to… The generosity and grace of others. First, my homestay family, who opened their home to me and paIently guided me through unfamiliar waters. My Runa supervisors, Ian Cummins (top right) and Aliana Pineiro, who designed the project and taught me how to contribute. Jenny, Charlie, and the OUSF team, who were with me the whole way through. Finally, the Duke Endowment, which made this experience possible in the first place.
Pre Departure Goals • Improve my Spanish • Get out of my comfort zone • Learn what makes Ecuador alike to and different from
the rest of LaIn America • See what “sustainable development” looks like on the
ground