My First Year

Can you believe it has actually been more than a year since I left, I sure can’t . When I decided to look into working abroad I was looking for an experience that would get me out of the everyday routine that I was stuck in. I was seeking an adventure where I could experience new cultures, make new friends, see new places and try to do some good while I was at it. Now I can honestly say that my first year in Ecuador has more than exceeded my expectations (oh and I still have a year left).
From the time I left my parents in Washington, DC for our “staging event” there has been a steady level of adrenaline running through my veins. The sheer excitement of jumping on a plane with 45 strangers and heading for Quito was something I will never forget. Then on top of it all I was introduced to a culture that even though it seemed to be very similar to ours was incredibly different in very many ways. As my first days went by I came to the realization of how bad my Spanish actually was (see previous blog entries to understand my frustrations) and how utterly exhausting learning a language in a foreign land can be. Then after about two months of training, my Spanish improved and I bonded with the 45 people who were in the same situation as me. Then, the day came which we were all dreading, on April 19th we were all split up and sent off to our different worlds of Peace Corps service. Some went to cities others went to the most God awful places in Ecuador, I was extremely fortunate to go to beautiful San Pedro de Vilcabamba.
I can remember riding on the bus for my first time to San Pedro like it was yesterday. Seeing my host brother Angel running up the highway towards me not knowing if he was coming to help me with my bags or to rob them from me. Ever since then this past year has been filled with a lifetime of experiences, some have been tough or aggravating but most have been great times . All in all I can honestly say that I definitely am living the adventure that I was yearning for.
So, in order to entertain you I figured I would give you two of my first year’s top ten lists:
Top Ten Things that drive me nuts about Ecuador and Ecuadorian Culture (not in any specific order):
1. Butting in line is acceptable and pretty much routine
2. Women hauking loogies
3. Dog’s barking and roosters crowing all night long
4. Sitting in meetings where all they do is plan and then having another meeting 3 days later to plan some more and then following up on that meeting to plan for the next meeting.
5. Bus and Taxi drivers that drive like they are on a death wish
6. THE LITTERING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
7. No one ever has change for a $20… so you wait…and wait…. And PRESTO they magically have just found change even though they haven’t moved or looked anywhere different while you just stared at them…
8. 15 hour bus rides to Quito where half of it feels like your are in a pinball machine
9. Gringos that think they are super cool cause they bought a “finca” (farm) in Vilcabamba
10. Showing up to work drunk on a random Tuesday is acceptable

Top Ten (or twelve, now thirteen) Things I love about Ecuador and its culture:
1. The Soups and the Drinks
2. Sitting on the porch stoop with whomever and just chatting it up
3. Ecuadorian resourcefulness and work ethic
4. The fact that at the most random times when you need something random (eg. broom, toothbrush, flash drive, stethoscope, inflatable pool) there will be a salesman walking by selling that item. And yes we did have one walk by and try to sell us a stethoscope.
5. THE WEATHER!!!! (At least where I live)
6. How Ecuador is really 3 countries wrapped into one with its Jungle, Mountains and Beach.
7. Realizing that these people are content with living day to day and enjoying what they have, there isn’t such a desire for success as in the US
8. The fact that if I ever need a Sashe for any kind of beauty contest, I have the ability to shop around at 50 different stores that sell them in the city of Loja.
9. Riding in the back of a pickup truck
10. $1 Big Beers!!!
11. The far off sound of a Donkey HEE HAAWING… still cracks me up when I hear it.
12. Hearing “Hola Andres!” shouted by one of the many little kids I have befriended in my community.
13. Taking my dog for a walk in the early morning or late afternoon and recognizing how blessed I am for living in such a truly beautiful place with such great people.


Next Blog Entry…. Machu Picchu!!!

My Ladies

As many of you may or may not already know, I am not only working with the NGO Colinas Verdes on their coffee projects, but I am also working with a local women’s group and their recycled paper products. Mis mujeres, aka my ladies, organized about 20 yrs ago in order to create more income for themselves and their families. Originally they just toasted and ground coffee but then a Peace Corps volunteer came to San Pedro about 10 yrs ago and got them into making recycled paper products. They originally started making just the cards but then expanded their product line into boxes, large books and photo albums and bags.
The process for making the paper is amazingly simple. They just collect discarded paper from area businesses and schools, wet it down and then throw it into a large industrial sized blender. While it is blending they mix in the fibers from the banana plant stalks or from other plants to add some color/texture into the paper. Then once done blending they dip “framed screens” into the pulp, these screens give the paper form while draining most of the water out. Then they take the top part of the frame off and place a large thick vinyl like sheet on top of the pulp and flip it. The pulp stays on the vinyl sheet in form and then they place it on a drying rack where it takes anywhere between 1-3 days to dry, depending on the amount of moisture in the air. Once dry they take the paper and, using pre-designed patterns, make them into the bags, books and boxes. Then they hand paste, yes I said hand paste, the petals of flowers into beautiful designs on whatever it is there making. I have sat and watched them go through this grueling process and cannot believe they have the patience for it. But I will tell you that these women take great pride in each one they make because after they have completed each product they will call everyone to attention and show their artwork off to the rest of the group.
Since they started to make these recycled paper products ten years ago they have been able to perfect the process of making their products but, as with many small businesses of this nature in Ecuador, these folks have no real sales or marketing sense. In regards to marketing they really do nothing other than set up a booth in the local markets on Sunday afternoons and when I say “sales sense” I mean that they literally just sit and wait for people to come to them and do not go out and try to find locations to sell their products in either Loja or the tourist town of Vilcabamba, both gold mines! So in return, these women were really only selling about $15-20 of their products per week, thus paying the workers about $.50 per hour.
So given my backround and my experience I felt like the sales and marketing side of their business was the best place I could help. The first thing I did was to help them cut down their product line ( for example they had about 4 versions of a small book that were all pretty much the same) and to create versions of products that might sell better. Then I created a catalog in both Spanish and English to serve two functions. One it enables me to email the product line out to potential buyers and two, we can now visit all the local artesenia shops in Loja and Vilcabamba and show them pictures of each product and the prices easily. Just in doing this alone we have been able to sell about $1200 of their products in the last 6 months. Many thanks to Melissa Howard for selling about $800 of that!!!
In an effort to get these older women more in touch with technology, the other Peace Corps volunteer in my site, Lindsay Dudley and I, have started computer training classes with the women. I just recently signed them up for an email address and am trying to train them to check it on a regular basis in order to start receiving international orders.
Looking into the future, we are developing more marketing materials to help them attract more tourists to come to their office and see how the products are made and to hopefully buy directly from them. Also we started selling our products in the US Embassy in Quito and have found two more stores to sell their products (they were currently only selling to one) and are hoping to find more. My goal for them is to train one of these women in simple sales strategies so they can continue to find more locations to sell and to maintain their existing relationships in order to create sustainability once my Peace Corps time is up. Lindsay and I are also going to be making a flower garden in their facility so the women only have to go out their front door to find the decorative flowers. Lastly, as I am sure you all are thinking, we need to start selling our products on that little thing called the World Wide Web, maybe you’ve heard of it? My goal here is to develop a website (or to utilize a web service) where we people all over the world can view their products and purchase them with a credit card. But, seeing as these women just learned how to turn a computer on though I think we are still a little way off with this…. Baby steps….Baby steps….