Ministerio del Ambiente

As some of you may know, I have a deep interest in the environment. My academic studies usually focus on environmental aspects in international relations and so working on the farm has given me some insight into aspects of agriculture and endangered species. When Marcelo mentioned that three people from the Ministerio del Ambiente (Ministry of the Environment) were coming to the farm, I couldn’t believe my luck. When they arrived, I followed them around wide-eyed, listening intently to everything they had to say.

The reason for their visit was to check on the condors we have on the farm. In Ecuador, there are only 70 Andean Condors remaining, so they are extremely endangered. Our farm has two condors in an enclosure an hour up the volcano and the Ministerio del Ambiente is very interested in relocating them to a larger enclosure once one is built. The three workers got in their truck and asked if I would like to go visit the condors with them and I course I nodded very enthusiastically. The ride up, we talked about different species, Latin names, and how to treat deer with diseases. Although it was relevant, I wasn’t that interested and so once we got to the condors, my interrogation started.

They were very good teachers and listeners so they answered all of my questions. I started talking about policies surrounding endangered animals and then snuck in some questions about Indigenous communities and the effect of oil. I also asked them how their department has been working with these issues. I got a lot of very interesting information that I feel I shouldn’t share on the internet. Let’s just say that their opinions weren’t exactly the opinions of the government, who they work for. I enjoyed my time with them and am planning on setting up an interview with the main worker when I’m back in Quito. 

Daily Schedule

Every day on the farm was different and brought surprises, but here’s a schedule of a typical day.

6:00 am- Wake up, hit snooze.

6:15 am- Roll out of bed, put Muñeca (the dog) outside, and go to the kitchen to cook breakfast.

7:00 am- This is the time we’re supposed to start working.

7:20 am- This is the time we actually start working.

7:30 am- Feed the bear and deer. Move the sheep and pig pens.

7:40 am- Herd the goats up to the field where they graze all day.

8:00 am- Start a project. Examples: digging water canals, cleaning out the river, shoveling a garden bed, weeding.

12:00 pm- Lunch!! We cooked different variations of rice and vegetables every day.

12:20 pm- Since the guys didn’t have to cook and ate really quickly, they would play a game, Zapo, right outside our kitchen.

1:00 pm- Finish the project.

3:00 pm- Volunteers stop working. If we were bored, we would help out with the animals the rest of the afternoon.

6:00 pm- Dinner!! We cooked more rice and vegetables.

9:00 pm- Usually we went to bed really early because there was nothing else to do. 

Arriving at Ilitio

“Take a bus going south. When you hit the town of Lasso, get off the bus at the second intersection. Get in a pickup truck and go east until you hit the farm.”

These were the directions I had to find the farm, Hacienda Ilitio. I knew that Cotopaxi was south of Quito, so I headed south hoping I wouldn’t get too lost. I arrived at the bus station and heard someone yelling Latacunga, which was in the direction I needed to go, so I ran to the bus and managed to get the last seat. I sat next to a very flirtatious old man who interrogated me about my love life, Mexico, and tried setting me up with a man sitting across the aisle. When I needed to get off the bus, he insisted on getting my phone number so I temporarily forgot how to speak Spanish and hopped off the bus unscathed.

The bus pulled away and I was left on the side of a highway, alone, with no camionetas (taxi trucks) in sight. I took a deep breath and ran across the highway to a store that would know where the camionetas were. I looked like a ridiculous tourist: big straw hat, two big backpacks, and a bag filled with food and a frying pan. The woman in the store started laughing and asked if I needed a camioneta which I responded to with a weak nod. When the truck arrived, I climbed in and told him I needed to go to Hacienda Ilitio and 45 minutes later, he pulled up to a picturesque farm house and told me to get out. I was greeted by Sebastián, the farm owner, Marcelo, the live-in farm manager, and Taryn, another volunteer.

The farm was unbelievably beautiful. The huge orange house was straight from a magazine and behind it, the volcano Cotopaxi popped out of the clouds showing off its breathtaking glaciers. There were fields filled with alpacas, llamas, horses, sheep, cuy, hens, ducks, falcons, and even a bear! The gardens were overflowing with quinoa and cauliflower and many unknown greens. Our bedroom was big and the bathroom was an actual bathroom complete with warm water and a toilet! We didn’t have to work until Monday and so Taryn and I hung out for the rest of the day.