Random Explorations

Being away from the office for almost two full weeks is wonderful. I finally got some quality time to spend in Lita and the surrounding Awá territory. As February is a busy month for the artisans with fairs going on everywhere ar the same time during the national carnival, I’ve been helping the best I could to coordinate all these events. Instead of doing the office piece, meeting with event organizers and taking care of the administration, I got a chance to do the field work. Doña Filomena asked me to help socialize these fairs and all the work that we have done so far to find new markets for Awá crafts in the communities of Río Bogotá and La Unión.
I had already been to Río Bogotá to co-facilitate an eco-tourism workshop and was excited to have the chance to go back there. The hike is short, only 40 minutes on the way down there and about an hour hike back up to the panamericana. When entering the territory you immediately feel it, the forest is lush with amazingly diverse vegetation and a smell so fresh fills your lungs. The community was having there monthly meeting last Saturday so we took advantage of the gathering to give our presentation. There are about 8 artisans in Río Bogotá including the community presidents, vice-president and secretary so it wasn`t difficult to get a space in the meeting’s agenda. Furthermore Filomena is highly respected there for all the work that she has been doing to keep the group active. It was very interesting to listen about the major conflicts that they are facing from invaders from neighbouring afro-communities and mining companies, the internal conflicts between families, about how they never got the cattle from the MIES Esmeraldas project. They are not swift at taking decisions and the discussion could get quite chaotic with 5 people talking at the same time but Filomena helped clear the path toward resolutions. We then gave a brief presentation on our work report including the market research studies in Otavalo and San Antonio de Ibarra, the different fairs the artisan group will participate this month and about the Banco Interamericano de Desarrollo proposal that we sent out the previous week.
Our theme was certainly the less controversial and the only one bearing positive news. I guess it was a bit of a relief for all present. The artisans were quick at assigning members responsible for each event and argued little about the two options offered by the San Antonio craft store. I highly recommended that they start off selling their art with a commission and no strings attached rather than becoming a member of the store with higher fees and responsibilities that couldn’t be fulfilled in the short term. Simply put, I told them that we must first test the market there and find out if the sales justify the costs of becoming a “socio”. We left the community the same day we arrived. This is one of the main advantages of living in Lita and being so close to the Awá territory.
Going to La Unión was also a spontaneous decision spurred by the need to gather more artisans to support the upcoming fairs. There are about 5 artisans living in La Unión, also in the Esmeraldas province so Filomena sent a messenger to announce our visit and set up a meeting. The 3 hour hike there is an endless load of mud. La Unión is one of the most talked about communities being at the front line of the mining conflict. There is a burnt tractor belonging to the mining company at the side of the road where we start our hike. There still is much controversy about who burnt the machines, 3 of them in total. The company wasted no time to accuse the Awá president directly for hiring men to burn them down. Olindo, who naturally did no such thing, will not adventure himself in this part of the territory until the problem is solved for security reasons. I heard so many stories about this community, I just wanted to see it with my own eyes.
The walk there is so muddy because the mining company that made a unilateral deal with three communities started building a road that cuts right through the Awá native forest to make its way up to Tobar Donoso where gold is mined. The Awá Federation has always been clear that it is prohibited to deal with mining companies and that if they want a road we should deal with local authorities. The three communities have broken their trust and initiated a clear division between those for and against the miners, a conflict that won’t vanish any time soon.
Since the hike is a painful bore, we decided to spend one night there so I brought my tent and all my gear and food. As soon as we got there however, we were received by the community president in his traditional Awá house and fed a full plate of chiros and a campo egg. I was later invited to spend the night at Filomena’s dad’s house but since I had dragged my tent all this way, I figured that I might as well use it. I set up my camp in the community dining area which was unoccupied and fell asleep in no time. The meeting with the artisans had gone well, with good participation and clear resolutions were taken. Everyone agreed to collaborate and to start selling at the San Antonio craft store. I also had a chance to give a brief presentation about the importance of selling the image of Awá art to differentiate it from other indigenous crafts. They learned about the different between a brand, a logo and a slogan and how these tools could be used to add value to their products. We invited them to start drawing drafts of logos that would represent and illustrate Awá crafts hoping to have a new logo for the new labels and brochures we wish to design.
Between these community visits I spent a good deal of time in Lita, talking to my neighbours and different acquaintances, and getting a chance to explore the abandoned railroad. The authorities claim that they are going to rehabilitate the line that used to connect Ibarra all the way to San Lorenzo but they are desperately under funded. Nature has re-conquered most of the railroad which makes it a picturesque walk going through tunnels and along the río Mira. The Lita train station looks brand new and barely ever used as if they renovated it right when the train stopped coming. I still have much to explore down there and keep these excursions for times I need to clear my mind. I was going to walk further down the rail that day but my fellow volunteer who lives only an hour from Lita was coming in town and needed my computer. He’s a lot of fun to hang out with so I’m glad he comes down to Lita regularly to use internet. We usually have lunch in my mansion and a few beers, fresh ones thanks to that fridge! We made the happy discovery that they finally sell the famous Clos red wine in bricks right here in Lita which really made our day. A down note however, rats have been more active these days making their way to my kitchen that just has this old rotting bug filter as a window. The rodent easily finds a crack and goes through my garbage. I warned my landlord who is putting poison around the junk yard of his killing a few but I still have the regular visitor which is getting me nervous.