Meet my Animalitos!

Hi friends and family, 

As some of you may know, in October Xavi and I moved into our next door neighbor's big house because they moved to Costa Rica. The house is AMAZING.  It has a pool, 3 full bathrooms, 3 bedrooms, an office, big kitchen, living room and dining area.   It is fully furnished and is a peaceful and beautiful place to live. 

We got a great deal on the house but part of the deal is that we take care of they owner's pets until he can move some of them to Costa Rica or find homes in Tena for them. This isn't just a dog or a couple of cats... He has 4 dogs, 5 cats, 30 birds and a pond full of fish!  We also have a dog named Charlie, so he has become part of the pack.

I thought it would be fun to introduce them to you! 

  This is Sacha

 This is Patty

 
This is Pepa

 This is our dog, Charlie

  These are the kitties

 

 

This is the bird cage and the birds below

The other dog, Anibal, refused to be photographed today, but he is also very cute (although grumpy).
 

Every morning at around 6:15 we wake up to feed all of the animals, and then in the evening around 6:00 we feed them again. We take Charlie, Patty and Anibal for a long walk or run almost everyday and recently Sacha started joining us as well, which is good because she is very fat! It is fun taking care of them, they all have different personalities and they keep me company when Xavi is traveling for work.

Hope everyone is doing well! 

Love,

Aliana

I'm a Resident of Ecuador!

Hi friends and family!

I wanted to share very exciting news with you: after 7 months, countless trips back and forth to Quito to two different visa offices and the civil registry, document translation and notarization, stamps from the Ecuadorian consulate in Boston, official documents sent from the States (thank you, Mom for helping me!) and a new passport I am finally a legal resident of Ecuador! 

Here's proof:

It all started back when Xavi and I got married in a civil ceremony back on January 10th to start the paperwork before my volunteer visa expired. We thought that it would take a couple of months but certainly by the time we went to the States in March, I would have my visa and resident ID card... little did we know that it would take until late July!

At every step of the way, we had to scramble to get paperwork together - the civil wedding, the residency visa application, and the application for my resident ID card. The visa application was by far the most complicated and longest part of the process, official documents in English had to be apostilled by the State of MA, translated by an official translator and notarized, we each were interviewed separately to ensure that we were really a couple (and that I wasn't just marrying him for the papers!), and finally when I went to pick up my visa in late June, they decided that I needed a new US passport because mine was going to expire soon. 

Needless to say this process took an enormous amount of patience on both of our parts, which sometimes I did not have. For example, they wanted copies of everything, we would think our paperwork was complete and they would request one more document (notarized, of course), and I was always waiting, sometimes up to 4 hours for my turn to hand in paperwork (only to be told that I was still missing something or needed to make a copy or that it was too late and I had to return the next day!). 

The Ecuadorian bureaucracy was a source of culture shock for me, I couldn't understand the logic behind much of what was asked of me and was often angry and frustrated (for example: why did I have to go outside to a copy shop to make a copy of a document that they had just given me, for their records!!??). In the end, however, everything turned out fine, I got my residency visa and ID card and will never have to do it again. Also, the employees at the different offices were remarkably patient and kind, even if they couldn't bend the rules for me, they always treated me professionally and politely. 

To my friends in Ecuador who are going through the visa process, you can do it!

Mompiche Beach, Esmeraldas

Hi Everyone,

Xavi and I took a weekend trip to a beautiful and quiet beach in February called Mompiche in the province of Esmeraldas. Previously a quiet fishing village, Mompiche has recently gained recognition as a great surfing and tourist spot. It is still very quiet and laid back compared to many of the other party beaches along the Ecuadorian coast.

We stayed in a neat hostel that has camping ares, shared rooms and private rooms.  The hostel is decorated with murals and they have a small outdoor cocktail bar and fire pit.

This was our view from the hotel window.... (breathtaking!)

We went for a bike ride on the beautiful beaches around Mompiche, it was so picturesque!

 

Our friends, Jaime and Gisela joined as well, they lent us the bikes, thanks Caveman Adventures! 

 

 

 

We stopped at a beach-side community and ate delicious fish and ceviche made in the home of a woman in the community. This little girl was curious about the newcomers:

I highly recommend the Ecuadorian coast, hidden treasures like Mompiche are so beautiful and not yet crowded by tourists.

Love,
Aliana

Yerba Mate in Argentina

Hi Everyone,

In December I went on a work trip to Argentina with researchers and technicians from Runa to learn about Yerba Mate production.  Yerba Mate (Ilex paraguariensis) is a relative of Guayusa (Ilex guayusa) and is native to the sub-topical region where Argentina boarders Brazil and Paraguay in the north. We visited the province of Misiones.

In Misiones, almost everywhere you look people are drinking yerba hot or cold  mixed with lemon as "tereré". They put the dry yerba into a container called a "mate" with its metal straw and then they pour the hot water or the cold water with lemon and have a few sips.  Often this is a communal act, people will share their mate with friends or family and always carry a thermos to continue to fill the mate. Below you can see Raul, our host at the Guayakí farm with his thermos and mate for refreshing tereré.

Yerba production is very industrialized, especially compared to the small scale farmers and singular, small guayusa production plant. We visited yerba farms, cooperatives, processing plants and research centers in order to learn from the Argentinian experience and see what lessons we could apply to Guayusa.

By far my favorite visit was to Kraus, a family-run organic and Fair Trade certified guayusa farm and factory. We went out into the fields to see the plants, that are pruned so that they grow like tall bushes rather than trees.

We were shown around the factory where they process the yerba, using a very different procedure than we do for guayusa. Instead processing the leaves like black tea, like we do with guayusa (withering the leaves and then drying them in ovens), they process leaves and small twigs first by exposing them to flame and very high heat for a few seconds, then drying them at a lower heat in ovens, then sizing them and storing them from 6 months to 2 years to allow time for the flavor to mature.

And finally, the mom of the Kraus family (pictured below third from the right) made us homemade pizza and little bread bites for lunch when we came back.

The Kraus family was very open with us and happily shared their knowledge with us. They were eager to embrace us as fellow pioneers in organic and fair trade production of a traditional beverage for export markets.

We also went to the Iguazú waterfalls on our last day in Misiones.  It was an amazing experience to see that amount of water falling with such force!

It was a wonderful trip; we learned a lot that we brought back to share with our teams in Ecuador and were able to see a new place.  I really enjoyed Misiones for its welcoming people, natural beauty and of course, the delicious tereré!

Love,
Aliana

Abdias

Hi everyone!

Happy New Year! I was going through my photos and realized that I had never posted the pictures of my godson's baptism back in August.  My friend, Carmen, and her husband, Carlos, live in Tena and have a laundry service in the neighborhood of Bella Vista Baja. I got to know them because when I was an intern at Runa in the summer of 2011, I always washed my clothes there. They are originally from the coast of Ecuador, but have lived in Tena for several years. They have four children, Moshell, Andrea, Derek, and Adbias.

Here is the whole family with my friend Caro and me on the left (photo credit: Andrew Spurr)

Being a godmother in Ecuador means that every time I go to Carmen's house she feeds me a giant plate of food (even if I'm not hungry!) and I give Abdias Christmas and birthday presents and help out if they need anything. Really, it is a way to be included in a family.

He had a Catholic baptism. Here are a few photos in the church after the service.

The godfather, Carlos, Carmen, Abdias and I. 

 Baby Abdias and I:

The godfather and his family with a few extra kids who jumped in the photo:

Andrea and Abdias:

In Ecuador party favors are an important tradition.  For Abdias' baptism there were two different favors and the little wax paper tag says his name, the date and the names of the godparents.

Recently I took Carmen and the kids out for a "salchipapa" dinner. The fast food of Ecuador - a plate of french fries and pieces of hot dog that you can top with sauces and salads. It was fun!

I hope everyone is well!

Love,
Aliana

Working with the guayusa farmers

Hi friends and family!

Recently, I have been working a lot with the guayusa farmers organization. Here is an update on what I have been up to with the in the last few months.

We have been working with a facilitator, Wain Collen, to help the farmers develop their statutes, internal regulation and communication plan, and help them with budgeting their use of the social premium fund (a fund that the business pays into for each purchase of guayusa that is meant to be used the benefit of the farmers).

In September the group had elections of representatives to the farmers' organization and they requested that a representative of Runa be present at the meetings in order to explain Fair Trade and the social premium fund.  It was very interesting to go to the communities to talk to the farmers and also witness their election process.

Listening to a presentation in the community of Atacapi.

Women filling in their secret ballots to elect their representative in San Rafael (the woman second from the right won the election). 

The presentation of the new representatives and their alternates in Nukanchicausay and Cotundo (below).

Although from my pictures it may seem that there is a significant number of representatives who are women, this is actually not the case.  There are 20 representatives and four are women - many women were elected as alternates. Kichwa women have many responsibilities in the home and often do not speak Spanish as well as the men (most indigenous people in Napo province who live in communities speak Kichwa as their first language).  This makes traveling to the town of Archidona for meetings and interacting with Fundación Runa (with mostly Spanish-speaking staff) seem very difficult.  The good thing is, as the geographic zonal cooperatives take form, all farmers will have more opportunity to participate as  the meetings will be in their zones and will be held in Kichwa.

In October I took a group of the farmers on a trip to visit a cooperative called Jambi Kiwa that produces medicinal plants in the mountain city of Riobamba.  The organization was started by an inspiring indigenous woman named Rosa Guaman and is 90% women.  They have grown little by little over 25 years and now export their organic and Fair Trade certified medicinal teas and other products to North America and Europe.

Rosa is in the middle in the hat in the photo below:

 

The Runa farmers also went on a tour of some of the small farms, which are very different from their larger, warmer jungle farms, and exchanged information and ideas with the Jambi Kiwa farmers.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Love,
Aliana

Birthday Weekend in Alausí

Dear Friends and Family,

I am still trying to catch you all up on the adventures that I've had in the last few months here in Ecuador; I must share my birthday trip to Alausí with you!  I decided that at 29 instead of a birthday party I wanted a quiet weekend in the mountains with Xavi.... Nevertheless I had a wonderful surprise cake at a party in Quito the weekend before my birthday.  The tradition here is that you get cake in your face.

My housemates and girlfriends also made me dinner and decorated with balloons and candles the night before I left for Alausí.

The next morning Xavi and I were off to the small Andean town of Alausí to take the train to the Naríz del Diablo (Devil's Nose). We stayed in a beautiful guest house called Hostería La Quinta, which was formerly the owner's family's house but was converted to accommodate the tourists that visit the quaint town.

The view from the Hostería is gorgeous mountains all around.

There is a big statute of Saint Peter on a hill in the town of Alausí.

Here is the view of the town from the hill: 

At the turn of the 20th century there was a train system from Guayuquil on the coast, to Quito in the mountains. After neglect and natural disasters in the second half of the century many sections of it were rendered useless.  In the last few years, President Correa declared it a national cultural patrimony and has dedicated funds to the repair of the railway as a tourist attraction.

The portion that we rode was from Alausí to the Devil's Nose Sisambe station.  It includes a section of the track that is built as a switchback or railway zigzag.  The trip is very steep; it goes from 7697 ft to 6102 ft. Therefore, it needs this mechanism that takes the train in a zigzag pattern using short pieces of rail and switches to move the train back and forth down the very steep part of the mountain instead of going straight down.
 
These old trains pictured below brought hundreds of tourists at a time out to see Naríz del Diablo.  Passengers were allowed to ride on top of the train.

We rode the new trains (I have to get a picture from Xavi to put here!) that are luxury in comparison. They have comfortable compartments and a tour guide that speaks several languages; however passengers cannot ride on the top of the trains anymore.

Here is the Devil's Nose itself:

And some other beautiful views in the area.

The station where the tourists arrive to see the Devil's Nose is close to two indigenous communities who work in the small museum, gift stands, and cafeteria at the station in return for a percentage of each ticket. It is an impressive tourist operation that is very well run. I highly recommend it!

Love,
Aliana