Hola desde Ecuador!

Eugenio Espejo de Cajas, our host village, is filled with interesting people with interesting lives. These people, from kitchen experts to constructions experts, influenced our stay in the village so much that we cannot imagine life without them. No matter how much we would like to think we served them, they served  us much more, by directing us, giving us food and creating life-long memories with us. To return the favor, we would like to tell their stories so that as many people will remember them as possible.

Asociasion Apangora started more than 10 years ago. 28 hard working families got together and decided to buy land that used to be the Hacienda Apangora. They worked really hard to pay for the land and develop some infrastructure to make a living for themselves. They started off with a cheese factory using milk from each family’s cows. Once the land was paid off, 18 families left cordially to work the land independent of the Asociasion. The remaining 1o families stayed with the cheese factory until the construction of the Panamericano, a 6 lane highway that ran right through where the old factory was. During the process of moving the factory brick by brick to make way for the highway, they started selling milk to Nestle. They eventually realized that Nestle’s price were too low for them to make a living. As soon as the new cheese factory was complete, they returned to selling cheese. This transition process was not easy and the families lost some of their clients. Right now they are working hard every day to build their business back to its original status.

Don Luis Gualacate. He was the first person to meet the group and our leaders. He introduced us to the members of the Asociacion Apangora. He worked as our main Maestro de Obras directing all the work done at the fencing for the machines. His patience and very strong hands were some of the qualities that amazed all of us every day.

Marcia Carvajal: An amazing cook who learned her ways from her mom and grandma. She is a very important part of her nephews lives because her sisters work all the time. When she wasn’t making delicious food for us, she was taking care of her family. She recently applied for a government administration job in Otavalo.

Ivan Gualacate: Luis’s son and our second maestro de obras (work foreman). He is studying to be a photographer and Graphic designer in Quito. He split his time between helping us complete our projects and traveling back and forth to Quito to complete his classes.

Marisol: Our wonderful second cook who brought warmth and happiness to the kitchen and our lives everyday. Her son Bastian came to the kitchen every day and made us laugh and die with his cuteness. Marisol works from home  for an editorial. She spends her time writing books for schools, she has to come up with activities and stories to make the students learn the objective given to her by the editorial. She welcomed us to her home and always made sure we were doing ok!

Bastian: Such a cutie! He developed a beautiful friendship with Sophia and was always there to make us laugh.

Don Luis Carvajal: He is one of the main partners of the Asociacion and is Marcia’s dad. Even though they live a few neighborhood away from Apangora, his parents worked very hard to get the land and he always told us how grateful he was for his parents example and how he wanted to continue their legacy.

Mama Theresa: She has 8 kids, one of them is Marisol so that makes her Bastian’s grandmother. She shadowed her grandma since she was 8 years old and learned from her all the knowledge of being a Quichua Dula. She then was trained by the Health department in Ecuador to learn the technical side of helping women give birth. She is part of a Asociacion of Parteras with 12 other women and together they started the first vertical birthing sala where the ancient Technics of Quichua birthing meet the technical side of the hospital standards. Even though she retired a few years ago and is dedicated to milking her cows and loving her grandchildren, she still gets calls from pregnant women who have heard how her knowledge helps turn children to the right position for birth. She invited some of us to milk her cows and also showed us how to embroider.

Don Rafael, or as the group called him: Don Rafiki. He helped the group from time to time at the working sites and always made the students laugh. Very smiley and caring, he helped the students get their traditional clothes.

Jenny: She is one of the hard working people of the Quesera. She taught each and every one of us how to make cheese. We saw her every day and by the end of the trip she made bracelets with our names on them. She works with her kids in the Quesera and is determined to make the best cheese every day.

These people took care of us, shared their stories with us, taught us about their traditions and took the time to welcome us to their communities. We couldnt be more grateful for their time and love. We hope you enjoyed meeting them as much as we did!

Big hugs!

-Community Service Ecuador & The Galapagos, Group A