August 3, 2017

I was also able to visit other counterparts during my recent stay in Ecuador. I dropped in on Nelson Torres. Torres learned the craft of raising pigs with some help from Peace Corps volunteers and then became a source of information for multiple generations of volunteers thereafter, including me. I learned everything I know about pigs from Nelson.

It was tremendous to see how his business had grown and hear of his big plans for the future.

I also was able to get some fantastic photos of his family.

One of the other joys of the trip was catching up with work partners from counterpart organizations. Those include Alberto Tamayo who continues to work with the Fundacion Pastaza.

At the time, they worked in reforestation and sustainable agriculture in the highlands around Ambato, largely to protect the hydroelectric dams. They now work on paramo conservation for water quality protection in the same region, with work with agriculture communities to protect drinking water and irrigation sources.

Alberto lives in Patate and his family runs a restaurant and hotel called La Casta. The back road to Patate from Pillaro is now paved and you can get there in 30 minutes in what would have been a multi-year trip.

I got some great photos of the family and Patate.

It was great to be able to catch up with them and to hear about their work and how the family is trying make their ecotourism venture work.