A little update from Licto

By Maartje Claassens (Master students exchange programme, cohort of 2024-2025))

I promised to send an update every once in a while from Ecuador, and as I have already been here for more than a month, I think it is a good moment for the first one! My Ecuadorian adventure started in Quito, where I spent the first four weeks to learn Spanish. I stayed with Rosa and her son Matteo, who gave me an incredibly warm welcome in the country. Rosa, Matteo, and the Spanish teachers introduced me to Ecuadorian food and culture and told me a lot about its politics, history, economy, and geography. I realise now how valuable it was to slowly settle and learn more about the country before starting my thesis in Licto.

Last week, it was finally time to travel to Riobamba. I immediately noticed that Riobamba is completely different from Quito. Especially on Saturdays, campesinos from all over Chimborazo travel to the city to sell their produce at the market or buy some necessities in one of the hundreds of stores.

On Wednesday, Susana and Sebastián invited me to join them to a workshop in Guamote, the heart of the indigenous province. Susana and Sebastián organised workshops with communities in various places around Riobamba these past months, together with NGO Maquita. The workshops intend to learn more about the way water is organised in the communities and the problems they face. In the afternoon, the women also received leadership training from the NGO. It was so impressive to be in an indigenous province for the first time and to hear their stories! In these communities, most men and youngsters migrated to the US, so solely women were left to take care of the lands and the children. Interestingly, all leadership roles in these communities were still taken by men, as it is not common for women to take a leadership role yet. On Tuesday, we will return to Guamote to visit the four communities and to take some water and plant samples in order to measure the water quality in the area.

Today was the first day I visited Licto, finally! Susana invited me to visit the market and to explore the town. It was almost surreal to finally ´be´ in Licto, the place where I heard and read so much about these past months. I have noted that the people in Licto, or the countryside, are way more curious or open than the people in the cities, so I had lots of small talk today! After we visited the market, Susana introduced me to the president and administrator of the Junta. I was invited to attend the meeting of the water user organisation next week, which surely will be really interesting.

While I am super excited to dive into the relationships between the páramo and Licto communities, I am at the same time still a bit insecure about doing research here. I think the main reason for this is that I feel so different from the people here, which is confirmed by all the curious faces when I walk in the streets. There are barely any tourists in Ecuador due to the news of the past months, but especially in the countryside it seems like the people have almost never met a person like me. For this reason, I am so thankful for the help of Susana and Sebastián who have introduced me to the people and the area. I think knowing some locals helps a lot when building up trust in the beginning!

Other insecurities come from the fact that some things seem to be so obvious for an Ecuadorian but are completely new to me, and it takes time to understand them. For example: how does a Junta de Riego actually work? And what is the importance of reciprocity in Andean communities? Moreover, while my Spanish improved a lot it is sometimes difficult to express myself about complex topics in a nuanced way, or to understand people when they talk really fast or with an accent. In Guamote, the women almost only spoke Quichua, the indigenous language, which makes it even more complex!

However, I know that this is all part of the challenge and experience of doing a thesis in Ecuador and luckily I have almost three more months to learn and explore! This week, I will start with some first interviews in Licto and visit the páramo communities for the first time. Really curious about my upcoming time in the Andes!

Un abrazo,

Maartje (o Martha o Martita aqui)