Written by Tim Park

We started our adventure before the sun was even up, gathering at O’Hare with sleep still in our eyes and excitement already kicking in. Our long travel day to Quito had officially begun. By noon we touched down in warm, sunny Miami after a brief and surprisingly restful first flight. While we waited for our connection, a running theme quickly emerged: a collective craving for Chili’s.

Before long, we were boarding our second and final flight of the day, bound for Quito. The flight turned out to be shorter than expected, and we were greeted by an incredible sunset as we descended into the Ecuadorian capital. After nearly 12 hours of travel, exhaustion definitely set in, but so did the realization that we had finally arrived.

We met Franz, made our way to the hostel, and crashed almost immediately. With a good night’s sleep ahead of us, all of us are excited for what Day 2 will bring.

Photo: at the Quito airport from (Franz Reinoso)

Photo: plane's view of the Ecuador sunset (Tim Park)

Written by Amelia Grisius and Greyson Marincic

We started the day at Hosteria Colibri with a breakfast of fruits, juice, eggs, and bread. This included the yucca bread we also had the night before. Then we drove to Urkuwayku farm where we discussed the evolution of bacteria, regenerative agriculture, and tested aggregate samples. We took a tour of the farm and ate lunch featuring dishes such as potato avocado soup and a star fruit dessert.

Photos: wildlife at Hosteria Colibri (Amelia Grisius) and soil aggregate experiment

From the farm, we took the bus into Quito’s historical district. We first went to La Compañía church founded by the Jesuits in the 1500s. It was really interesting to learn about the cultural changes with Christianity arriving in Ecuador. Also, we walked to the different city squares and learned the history of Ecuadorian independence.

Photo: La Compañía church

After, we went to Yumbos chocolate company to learn the process of making chocolate and of course to try it. From there, we looked at another church on our way to dinner. We had dinner at the Chimbo Cafe and the food was great. I (Greyson) got the shrimp ceviche, goat stew, and plantain cheesecake; my favorite was the ceviche. Then we went to Hotel Ibis where we wrapped up our night by going over our day with the class.

Photos: Yumbos chocolate tasting and Basílica del Voto Nacional

Written by Violet Spychalski

We started today with a tour at Casa Agave. We learned about how each part of the agave plant is used to produce food, clothing, musical instruments, and more rooted in indigenous Quechua practices. We planted our own agave plants and made dye using only products from the agave plant. At the end of our tour we had a tasting of many different agave products.

Photos: making dye, tying wishes to an agave plant at Casa Agave, participating in the distilling process (Violet Spychalski)

Next, we visited the Inti Ñan museum. We learned about ancient Ecuadorean culture and geographical diversity. We saw exhibits that demonstrated indigenous homes including bedrooms and kitchens. We also had the opportunity to learn why being located on the equator is so special. We participated in activities such as walking in a straight line over the equator and balancing an egg on a nail.

Photos: scenes from the Inti Ñan museum (Violet Spychalski)

Afterwards, we went to lunch at El Patio from Chef Alfredo.  We enjoyed an organically sourced meal and learned about Chef Alfredo’s projects. After attending culinary school, he intentionally chose his home community in the Chocó Andino region for El Patio to pursue his mission that extends much further than it just being a restaurant. One of Chef Alfredo’s projects is teaching children about sustainable farming and eating, so they apply it in their own lives. Another one of his projects includes learning agricultural techniques and methods from local abuelos so their traditional practices don’t get lost through generations.

Photo: Chef Alredo discussing questions at El Patio

Finally we ended our day by taking a scenic drive to Yunguilla Community, a community with a shared culture of sustainability. Every pair of students moved into Yunguilla family homes. We ate home cooked Ecuadorean meals and conversed with our home-stay families in Spanish about their culture and traditions.

Photo: entrance to the Yunguilla community

Written by Miranda Parikh and Maeve O'Connor

Today we spent the day in Yunguilla, a rural community in the cloud forest outside Quito. Almost everything here is built around working with the land and finding ways to support the community through local production. We started at the milk processing factory, where I learned that making cheese is a longer process than I expected. Milk moves through three different rooms for processing, receiving, and preservation, and it takes a full day to prepare the cheese. Nothing goes to waste. Anything that is not used becomes feed for animals, and the final products are sold in the community or sent to Quito.

After that, we visited the marmalade workshop. Women in Yunguilla started making marmalade at home in the 1990s and later organized to open a proper factory in 2003. They grow fruit on the farm and make marmalades that last up to eight months without preservatives. Chugualcán is the most popular flavor. Learning how this small industry grew out of women’s work at home was one of my favorite parts of the day.

Photo: assorted marmalades made by the Yunguilla community

We also toured a recycled paper workshop that turns scrap paper and plastic into hand-crafted paper. Drying the paper can take five days on sunny days or fifteen days when it is cloudy and humid. The finished paper is given to schools, and the women in the workshop paint animals from the community onto it. They also run environmental activities with kids, such as making bracelets with seeds, which teach them about biodiversity and sustainability.

Photo: Yunguilla community recycled paper and painting

In the afternoon we visited the house of the grandparents, a preserved home that showed how people lived decades ago. The walls were built from a mix of feces, sugar cane skins, and whey from milk, which was surprisingly sturdy. Our next stop was the forest with plants. Yunguilla works with scientists to collect seeds from native species, grow them into seedlings, and reintroduce them into the forest. It is slow work, but it keeps biodiversity alive and treats the forest as something to care for, not just something to use.

Photo: Yunguilla nursery plant

Lunch was at the community restaurant, which is a major gathering point. It was built by local carpenters, and about 25 percent of the food comes directly from the surrounding territory. It was cool to see how the restaurant sends money back into the community instead of out of it.

Photo: lunch of beef, tortillas, carrots and beets, and salad

After lunch, we headed to the Culuncos for a beautiful (and wet) hike. To get there, we were transported by utility truck. All packed in, we had some interesting experiences — Tim, in particular, bore the brunt of the intrigue. The Culuncos are trails paved by the Yumba people (pre-Incan) over thousands of years. We learned that these roads were once used to transport alcohol and other contraband. Our driver, Rolando, even transported alcohol by horse through the trails when he was a child.

Photos: scenes from the Culuncos trek

Written by Ian Chung

Our day started at 6 AM, where we woke up early to milk cows in the community. We trekked down a hill to the cow pasture. Two cows were brought out, and each of us took turns manually milking the cows. We were also able to use the milk to feed baby calves on the farm. We were also shown the milking machine that they normally use.

Photos: young small cows and scene from milking cows (Ian Chung)

Afterwards, we had a grueling hike back to the car and we drove back to our homestay families, where we had breakfast.

Photo: my homestay family's breakfast today (Ian Chung)

After the meal, students did different tasks with each of their families. In my family, we did our laundry. Then, we helped our house dad rake grass clippings off of the road. We also raked around the hill and stairs up towards the house. Our family also took us to harvest bamboo leaves for guinea pigs to eat. Their dog Scott came with us.

Photos: raking grass clippings, collected bamboo leaves, and Scott (Ian Chung)

Then, we ate lunch at the community restaurant. Afterwards, we learned how to cook quimbolito, a dessert, from Juana at her home. All of us volunteered to help make it.

Photos: making quimbolitos (Ian Chung)

After making the quimbolitos, we discussed food sustainability practices we've learned about in Quito and Yunguilla and compared them with practices in our communities in the United States and their challenges. We ended the day spending time playing games with the local community children.

Coming soon!