Two months with Ecotrackers on the river Morona

San José:
My project took place mostly in the village San José de Morona in the region Morona-Santiago. It was founded very far from everything, but close to the border as a political manifestation in the more than 50 year long war between Ecuador and Peru. The busride from Macas to San José is 150km and takes approximately 14 hours(says something about the quality of the road). There is no television, the radio is very noisy, the telephone of the city works sometimes on shorter distances. The average temperature is 35 degrees, and the ground is often muddy.



My project:
My project was to help a local activist called Orlando Montufar with vitalising the zone surrounding the peruvian-ecuadorian border on the river Morona. This river is Ecuador´s most direct way to the big rivers of Peru, the Amazon and Brazil. My work consisted of a lot of different things – all in all I was helping Orlando in whatever he was doing in order to develop the zone in a sustainable way, so people can have alternatives to cutting down trees, fishing, hunting and cattle (which all damage the rainforest). My work was very varied and I had a lot of responsibility.

The work:
I helped prepare the Ecotrackers house in the village San José de Morona for volunteers.
We made a wall to separate the bigger of the rooms into two dormitories, and started building furniture: 4 chairs, 3 tables. Furthermore we planned and bought wood for beds. There is still a lot of work to be done on the house to make it ready to receive volunteers. This includes: Building the beds, building a bathroom and a shower in the garden (we cannot keep on using the neighbour´s) and building a terrace behind the house. And maybe a few more chairs.

I coordinated four short-term volunteers for a week (only one spoke spanish) and helped them teach English in San José and a nearby village. Together we made an evaluation on the perspectives that English teaching has in the area. My four volunteers and I built a shelter in the middle of the rainforest on the bank of the river Morona, to prepare the construction of the first house of a ecological Ecuadorian-Peruvian village located on the border, which in the future is supposed to be a base of ecotourism, trade and binational integration on the river. The shelter we built is very basic. It has a floor made of planks, 1m above the ground, roughly 3x4m, and a construction to hold a big plastic sheet as a roof, in a height suitable for mosquitonets.

We also helped prepare a six-day promotion journey to San Lorenzo(the first Peruvian city downriver) in which we also went. This journey will from now on (if all goes well) a monthly event. The preparations were among other things building a roof for the canoa of a big plastic sheet, the night before take-off.

The community of San José:
San José is a colonist village of mostly cattle breeders very close to the border. People were friendly and welcoming. The men work from morning to evening in their farms a bit outside the village, and the place were a bit boring in the afternoon, when there was nothing to do. There were no young people – almost everybody between 18 and 25 had gone to Macas to study. I had only little contact with indigenous communities, only when I was visiting communities with Orlando. People are still sceptic about the project, but some are passionate, and the organisation Ecomorona seems to be working pretty well.

What I got out of it:
It was very fascinating to participate in a project, starting almost from scratch. Watching it grow, bit by bit, even designing and building the chairs for the arriving volunteers. I got to see a Peruvian army base from the inside, and visited indigenous villages as they are, with Manchester United T-shirts. It was a really very non-touristy under-the-skin experience. I learned a lot of things about working like that in a country like this and about organising things. Also it was a great experience to see the Peruvian river villages and especially San Lorenzo (50000 inhabitants, no road access, no cars, no tourists, but apart from that everything you would expect from a city of this size). In fact so great that the next thing I will do is travel to Brazil on these rivers. Other than that, I got to sleep in very savage rainforest a few times which was a great experience.

The future of the project:
I believe that the Morona river has a great potential for both tourism and trade, and with more volunteers coming it will work. There is great interest among the indigenous villages on the river for tourism, and as far as I can see it will work, as long as it receives constant support from volunteers.

All in all evaluation:
The organisation of my project was rather chaotic, also because I was the very first volunteer in the project, in its very initial phase. I am sure that future volunteers will meet the organisation with a clearer idea, and better planning(but remember: we are in Ecuador). Even though, be prepared that the project may differ from the idea you have when you leave Quito. I had a very good experience, for it is a good project, my coordinator was good and I was able to work effectively, which was ultimately what I wanted. For those who want traditional Indian dresses, shamanism and ayahuasca, birdwatching and medical herbs, this is not the project. For those who want and authentic experience of a community close to standing still, a knowledge of the social, economic and political problems that sustainable development confronts in this region and the experience of being part of the real battle (which is neither simple nor romantic), this is indeed the project.

Bjarke Frydendal, Denmark


Resumé paa dansk:
Jeg var to maaneder i og omkring San José de Morona, en kvaegavlerlandsby i regionen Morona-Santiago klistret op ad graensen til Peru. Projektets overordnede maal er at udvikle omraadet oekonomisk paa en baeredygtig maade, skabe alternativer til kvaegavl, skovhugst og jagt paa vilde dyr. Projektet er paa et meget tidligt stadie. Det jeg lavede var, at jeg forberedte et hus til fremtidige frivillige, koordinerede og hjalp fire frivillige med at undervise i engelsk paa skolerne, byggede et shelter med dem og tog med dem paa en seksdages promotion-rejse til Peru. Det var en spaendende oplevelse, at starte helt fra bunden med et projekt som dette; det var ret kaotisk og meget udfordrende. Men alt i alt en god oplevelse, en oplevelse af at have arbejdet effektivt for en god sag og at have moedt een anden kultur helt taet paa.