Tomorrow we will have been in the Amazon of Ecuador for 4 full weeks. Life here at the station is quite exciting. We are right on the river so we can bathe and shower there whenever we please. We just helped to plant a garden so that we can grow our own food and we are learning sustainable energy practices by operating solely on solar power.
The forest life is very cool to see. The other day Jane and I came across a transparent pink and black butterfly and she found a frog that mimics a leaf. Apparently it is very rare around these parts. We wake up to the birds every morning and the cicadas put us to sleep every night. I'm not going to lie, the jungle bugs can be pretty annoying, but you get used to them after a while.
So far we have worked with 3 known healers of the community and have collected plants that they consider to have medicinal properties.
Yesterday we had the opportunity to meet with one healer who is new working on this project. It was quite interesting to hear how his information compared to the other healers. He even mentioned that he has some secrets that he didn't want to share with us.
The fact that he said this to us touches on the point of cultural preservation. We are working to document the knowledge of medicinal plants so that it is not lost to the community forever. The fact that in our data collections we are losing these plants that are considered secret is a little disappointing because there is always that fear that these secrets may not get passed down to the younger generations. On the other hand, it is a bit reassuring that these secrets are not being shared with outsiders like us because this comments on the fact that the community finds this to be a strong part of their culture that they want to keep alive or keep from changing. The debate that comes from cultural preservation of native communities is always so difficult and complex because there are so many sides to the argument and overall questions of what is truly going to be beneficial for the community.
In our last two weeks here we plan to meet with 3 or 4 more healers to gather some final collections before heading back to Quito to work in the herbarium mounting the plants that we have collected. I am quite excited to meet with more people so we can gather more data and then move on to the next steps of the project.
In my time so far in the Amazon, I have met a ton of great people: new friends as well as great connections were I to come back. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity and to work on this project. The work is something I have never done before, but I am definitely having a great time learning and having fun while doing it.
Feel free to leave questions or comments! I'd love to talk about my experience with you!
The forest life is very cool to see. The other day Jane and I came across a transparent pink and black butterfly and she found a frog that mimics a leaf. Apparently it is very rare around these parts. We wake up to the birds every morning and the cicadas put us to sleep every night. I'm not going to lie, the jungle bugs can be pretty annoying, but you get used to them after a while.
So far we have worked with 3 known healers of the community and have collected plants that they consider to have medicinal properties.
Yesterday we had the opportunity to meet with one healer who is new working on this project. It was quite interesting to hear how his information compared to the other healers. He even mentioned that he has some secrets that he didn't want to share with us.
The fact that he said this to us touches on the point of cultural preservation. We are working to document the knowledge of medicinal plants so that it is not lost to the community forever. The fact that in our data collections we are losing these plants that are considered secret is a little disappointing because there is always that fear that these secrets may not get passed down to the younger generations. On the other hand, it is a bit reassuring that these secrets are not being shared with outsiders like us because this comments on the fact that the community finds this to be a strong part of their culture that they want to keep alive or keep from changing. The debate that comes from cultural preservation of native communities is always so difficult and complex because there are so many sides to the argument and overall questions of what is truly going to be beneficial for the community.
In our last two weeks here we plan to meet with 3 or 4 more healers to gather some final collections before heading back to Quito to work in the herbarium mounting the plants that we have collected. I am quite excited to meet with more people so we can gather more data and then move on to the next steps of the project.
In my time so far in the Amazon, I have met a ton of great people: new friends as well as great connections were I to come back. I am so grateful to have had this opportunity and to work on this project. The work is something I have never done before, but I am definitely having a great time learning and having fun while doing it.
Feel free to leave questions or comments! I'd love to talk about my experience with you!
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