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