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The Mira River Basin: Ecuador’s forgotten corner where forms of slavery persisted as late as 1965

We recently got to sit down with David Dyer – founder of the End of the Rainbow Foundation. EotRF is an organization that helps Afro-Ecuadorians from the Mira River Basin in Ecuador, an area where forms of slavery still existed as late as 1965, when President Kennedy’s foreign policy to Latin America, the Agrarian Reform, reached the Mira River Basin, giving families small pieces of land to cultivate as their own.

Eric: Your project sounds like an awesome initiative – what’s EotRF’s vision?

David: The core objective for us is really a commitment to the communities of the District of La Concepcion that can last for generations. Afro-Ecuadorians from this area have been totally forgotten about – the fact alone that slavery wasn’t fully abolished until 1965 is already mind-boggling. Unfortunately, development since then has been severely impeded by corrupt politics, prejudice toward black people, lack of economic stimulus, inconsistent prices for harvests, lack of social organization, and people just forgetting that we are all in this life together. So these communities need more than the occasional aid organization coming in for short periods at a time – things aren’t going to get better until someone comes in with long-term goals for improving the quality of life in the area in a lasting, sustainable way. That’s what we’re aiming for. We want to build safe playgrounds, bring agricultural innovation to the area, help improve schools and their infrastructure, and bring renewable energy to the communities of the District of La Concepcion and the greater Mira River Basin.

Eric: How did this project get started? What was it that made you decide to dedicate yourself this?

David: Well in 2003, I was working for the United States Peace Corps as a sustainable agriculture volunteer in the District of La Concepcion. I was seeing a lot of foundations and volunteer programs come into the area, give stuff away, and then leave – it was classic “give a man a fish so he can eat today” mentality. To give you an idea, one organization arrived to give away materials for building pig pens and supplied the community with young pigs for them to raise. Most of the beneficiaries ended up killing their pigs within a few months to get money from the sale of meat, rather than wait for the pigs to reproduce. A few months later, the same organization came back and gave away more pigs to the participants, who went on killing their pigs before getting any piglets from them. This kind of help really scares me – I don’t want the people of La Concepcion becoming dependent on an influx of free pigs every 3 months.

Anyhow, I was writing about all the problems I was witnessing, and realized the real cause was that there were no long-term commitments from these organizations for the betterment of the communities, only a commitment to fill out grants and play the numbers game. I couldn’t help thinking of how things could be done better, and I started dreaming about how I might connect people from my own community in the United States, to aid development of the communities from the Mira River Basin.

Since leaving the United States Peace Corps, my wife and I have continued to help people from the District of La Concepcion. We have fund raised and collected used clothes and toys to donate to the community, but it wasn’t until several years later, that I sent some of my writings to friends and family. In November of 2008, a good friend called me and first apologized for not reading the document before, then spoke of how inspired he was after reading the documents. Finally, it dawned on me that the time is now and EotRF was born.

Eric: One of the really cool things about catching you now, is that you’re still getting a lot of things set up for the foundation. How far along is the project right now? What have you been able to set up so far?

David: Yeah – we’re currently trying to get officially recognized as a non-profit corporation in the United States – which basically means filing paperwork with the IRS to gain NPO status. After finishing this process, we’ll have to go through the process in Ecuador. Getting recognized in the US first makes the legal process of becoming a non-profit corporation in Ecuador a lot faster and a lot easier.

While we’re still waiting on a lot of official paperwork to come through, we’re beginning to get the locomotive running. Through private donations we have been able to rebuild a roof for a paraplegic single mother, build eco-friendly dry composting toilets for the local high school, help rebuild several small animal cages, started a coffee project, helped a local man build a fruit tree nursery, and through a micro-finance loan, we have helped a pig farmer expand his project to improve birthing conditions for his female swine. We’ve also been able to host several volunteers, who’ve worked in elementary and high schools teaching English, worked with children in after school sports programs, and helped out on farms where they’ve learned how people in the area make their living.

Eric: So how can travelers help you now? What kind of volunteering opportunities can you offer them?

David: Volunteers are always needed and greatly appreciated. We try to make the best use of everyone’s individual skills and find the best fit for them, based on what it is they want get out of their experience. We have three main projects for volunteers right now; working on our farm, teaching in schools, and playing with children in after school sports programs.

If you’re working on the farm, you’ll enjoy the everyday chores of taking care of animals, seasonally milking a goat or cow and benefiting from the fresh (you might have to fight me for the goat’s milk), pruning fruit trees, lots of seasonal planting and weeding, fruit tree planting, organic fertilizer mixing, bee hive maintenance, and occasionally harvesting honey.

As for teaching in schools, most volunteers teach English, but many teachers are willing to incorporate volunteers in other classes as well. I really want to form after-school programs that have art and the environment as a primary focus, but we just don’t have the time or volunteer help needed to get this set up now.

Finally, we really encourage volunteers to interact with the kids through after school sports programs. There’s a soccer club in town that could always use an extra body to help in instruction and scrimmaging. Also we have frisbees, volleyballs and basketballs which we often use to teach sportsmanship and team work.

In all, we try to offer volunteers an experience they’ll never forget, one that’ll increase their awareness of our global community and contribute to their personal growth.

Eric: What are your thoughts about volunteer travel, and how it can help travelers experience genuine connection with the places they visit? You’ve had some travelers come and work with you already – what’s been the most significant thing they’ve gotten out of it?

David: Oh man – volunteer travel is definitely the most rewarding way to experience a new culture or place. I remember a volunteer coming up to me one day, telling me how she traveled to the county’s capital, Mira, for a political rally with her host family, where her host father introduced her as his daughter. I could see how moved she was from the kind of acceptance she’d received, the connection she’d made. You just cannot get that kind of experience on the gringo trail.

I mean, even for me – I share my time between the District of La Concepcion and my home in Quito, and it never ceases to amaze me how when I arrive on site, usually Monday afternoons, someone approaches me, often a small child, and gives me a full report on what my “sister” or “cousins” have been up to over the weekend. This is the kind of thing I wish travelers we’re experiencing a lot more of – it reminds us of the impact we make on others lives.

Eric: Do you have any advice for travelers looking to volunteer abroad

David: Finding the right volunteer program for an individual is extremely important. There are many volunteer opportunities where one can camp on site, live in a dorm-type setting with other volunteers, and like EotRF’s program, live with host families. Those interested should always take ample time to think about what they want to get out of the experience, before making a decision on where to travel.

Eric: Well, it’s really awesome you’re doing this. Definitely keep us updated on your progress – we’d be happy to have you back anytime to talk about how things are coming along. Thanks again for talking with us!

Learn more about the End of the Rainbow Foundation.