The riverine communities of the Rio Guarguallá: What happened after the countermap session?

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

Since my last two updates, a lot has happened here in Ecuador. I have been here for more than three months now with only one more month to go, time flies! In these last weeks, I have had the luck to meet so many friendly people, who have welcomed me with open arms. As I slowly built up a little network, I had the opportunity to attend reunions, events, and asambleas, talk to many different people, and live with a family in the páramo for a while. I still learn more about my thesis subject and Ecuadorian people, culture, and life everyday!

As I have told you before, my thesis dives into the relationships between the upstream and downstream communities of the Guarguallá River basin. You may wonder how we came up with the idea to explore the social ties around this river, well known locally but which can´t even be found on the internet. Well, my thesis draws upon the issues that came out of the countermap session organised by Riverhood & River Commons in the Guarguallá River basin last year. You may have read Sebastián´s story on this website, in which he describes how the riverine communities, academics, activists, and artists came together to create a map of the river basin. Or you may have seen this mapping process in the impressive (and Global Impact Award winning) documentary ‘Diary of Travelling Rivers’, also on this website. On the map, you can find the river and the small streams that feed it, the endless grasslands in the páramo, the alpacas, the communities who take care of the páramo, the irrigation system of Guarguallá-Licto, and the communities who benefit from the water in Licto. However, a countermap is not only the visualisation of a territory. It is also a way to build relationships, share histories, and express frustrations, needs, hopes, or wishes.

While the riverine communities live relatively close to each other and are related to the same river, they do not have a close relationship. The downstream communities in Licto use the water from the river to irrigate their lands, which has literally revitalized this impoverished area. While the battle for water has been hard in Licto, the indigenous peasant communities can now produce various kinds of vegetables, fruits, grains, and herbs and hold cattle. Since the construction of the Guarguallá-Licto irrigation system, the downstream communities established relationships based on the Andean principle of `reciprocity´ with the upstream communities in the páramo. The communities in Licto used to provide maize to the páramo communities, to secure the conservation of the water sources they depend upon. The communities in the páramo have been dedicated to the conservation of the páramo these last years, with the support of various NGOs and state institutions. However, the relationship between the riverine communities slowly disappeared over the years due to various reasons. CESA, the NGO that initially supported the riverine communities in their contact, left, new leaders have been elected on both sides, and younger generations are not aware of the battle for water in Licto. In the countermap session, it came to the fore that the páramo communities feel frustrated about the distance between the riverine communities. While they have been dedicated to the conservation of the water sources from which the downstream communities benefit, they do not receive anything in return.

Now, more than a year after the countermap session, I believe that there is new hope for the revitalization of the relationship between the riverine communities. In fact, the seed for this renewed contact may even be planted at the countermap session! In October, the páramo caretaker association, ASARATY, visited the irrigation board in Licto. A part of the road in the páramo had been destroyed by a landslide, which is also of importance for the downstream communities as it is close to the irrigation system. For this reason, the leaders of ASARATY came to ask for support in the form of machinery, materials, credit or hands to restore the road. However, the visit was not only intended to ask for one-time support but also to discuss how a more permanent collaboration could take form. ASARATY invited the irrigation board to visit the páramo, to see where their water comes from and what the communities do to protect the water sources. It was the first time that this board visited the páramo, the first time in a while they spoke openly with each other about how their relationship could be revitalized, and therefore an important milestone in my opinion. The leaders concluded that water is life, and therefore, that it is crucial to take care of the water sources. To achieve this, the upstream and downstream communities have to collaborate. After the tour in the páramo, the board presented their proposal to support ASARATY with the restoration of the road in their asamblea. After a discussion with the representatives from the communal irrigation committees in Licto, the board proposed to ASARATY to provide the cement needed and to come and help with the construction in mingas. In the future, the water users may offer support to the páramo caretakers in the form of machinery, materials, or hands for other wished-for projects in the páramo, such as the construction of a road and irrigation infrastructure. How this collaboration will precisely take form still needs to be discussed, and put on paper so that the relationship won’t disappear when new leaders are elected. Nonetheless, I believe that the first steps are made and I am more than curious to explore how their relationship will develop in the future!