Would you like a side of hypocrisy to go with that idealism?

As a natural resource conservation volunteer I have to deal with an extra challenge that doesn't quite apply to other Peace Corps volunteers. There is a certain element of irony (to put it nicely) in me as an American doing environmental conservation work in Ecuador. Essentially, I flew 3,000 miles from a country that has the world's highest rates of wasteful consumerism and environmental degradation to a place where most people don't own cars or washing machines to teach them about saving the environment.

I thought a lot about the ridiculousness of this situation before deciding to join the Peace Corps. I was worried that Ecuadorians would immediately see through my "do as I say and not as I do" message and not take me seriously. Luckily, this hasn't been the case. Most of the Ecuadorians I've worked with have been incredibly welcoming, eager to collaborate, and passionate about environmental issues. In fact as a whole Ecuadorians are far more cooperative and open to environmentalism than the Americans I talked to while working on global warming issues in Chicago.

However, yesterday giving a workshop on environmental education to teachers at a local high school I finally had my hypocritical skeleton pulled out of the closet. After the workshop finished I was talking to a science teacher about international environmental issues when he asked me, "Why hasn't the United States done anything to establish better control of the large industries that are causing global warming?" I explained that it was a very complicated political and economic issue and that while many Americans are in favor of more regulations other people don't believe that global warming is real or that it should be the American government's job to stop it. To which he logically replied, "Well then why aren't you in your own country changing their attitude about the environment?"

Yikes. That's a stumper. I told him that I fully intend to return to America after two years and do just that but for now I wanted to learn more about Ecuador and the environmental issues here. He seemed satisfied enough with my lame response. But I kept thinking about his question all day.

"Why wasn't I fighting the battle for the environment in my own country?” The United States certainly has more power to address the biggest international environmental challenges than Ecuador does. On the one hand my decision to come to Ecuador was purely selfish. I wanted to travel, to see the incredible beauty of the Andes and the Amazon. Also, I must admit the work I get to do here is a lot more gratifying and interesting. In America I would be lost in the labyrinth of political tension, money, and public apathy that is environmental advocacy. I might feel eventually that I had contributed some small piece to the passing of a new progressive law but overall it’s a battle that requires huge efforts for very slow results. In Ecuador I get to see the tangible and immediate impact of my work. I can see how many schools implement new environmental education programs, how many farmers begin experimenting with organic agriculture, and how many acres of land are reforested because of my efforts. Too often environmental activism in America feels like just words here in Ecuador it’s all about action.

I also know that I will eventually be a much more effective environmentalist because of my time spent in Ecuador. I have seen first hand a different way of living that uses less resources and produces less waste and I will bring that back to America. The chance to see a different perspective on the world and its future has forever changed my outlook on what exactly I am fighting for as an environmentalist. When I go back to America and enter once again into that labyrinth of politics, money, and apathy I will know for certain that the world is a lot bigger than the Senator who doesn’t believe in global warming or the thousands of Americans who think the pollution of today can be dealt with by the generations of tomorrow. When that labyrinth seems impossible to untangle what I have learned in Ecuador will give me hope.

The Shuar

One of my favorite things about living in the jungle is the opportunity to experience the incredible variety of indigenous amazonian cultures. The largest indigenous group in my region of the country are the Shuar and the more I learn about their history and traditions the more fascinated I become with this unique people.

The Shuar are probably best known in the Western world for the practice of making tzantza or shrunken heads. The tzantza were once a sacred ritual used to preserve the heads of particularly fierce enemy warriors slain in battle. The Shuar believed that this process trapped the soul of the warrior for ritual use by the tzantza owner.

The Shuar were remarkably good at resisting foreign rule and it wasn't until the late 19th century that outsiders established strong trade relationships with the Shuar and the mid 20th century that missionaries finally brought the true invasion of the outside world. The foreigners were fascinated by the tzantza practice and offered huge economic incentives for what they assumed were morbid war trophies. As a result warfare between the Shuar and nearby indigenous groups increased dramatically as warriors sought new heads to be sold to Western museums and collectors.

However, the Shuar are far more complex than the fantastical stories of spear wielding head hunters that visiting traders returned home with. They have an ancient spiritual tradition closely tied to the natural world that they live in.

Today the Shuar people and other indigenous amazonian groups face a new and much more dangerous threat from the outside world. Their ancestral lands sit on top of vast deposits of priceless minerals and oil. Since the early 20th century the Shuar have struggled with the invasion of national and international forces seeking to exploit these valuable resources. It's a complicated struggle that I am still trying to understand it within the tangled context of local and international environmental politics but it is a fascinating drama to see played out first hand.

The future of the Shuar lands is uncertain. For now I feel very privileged to have the chance to better understand this culture that seems so far removed from the outside world and yet has been profoundly impacted by it.





















This little girl is wearing traditional Shuar dress.














Shuar crafts at a local artisan fair.
















Mukindi a traditional Shuar dish of grilled giant beetle larva. I tried eating one. It's not so bad (as long as you chase it with a beer).