MC in Ecuador 2016: '"Travel is an exchange, not a commodity

Impact. Clearly travel comes with costs and benefits both to the traveler and to the local communities. Being a sustainable traveler comes with a responsibility to be both conscious and conscientious about the impact we are making on the world. In an ideal world, our travels and actions while traveling will make the world a better place.

We have been talking about our travel ethos since we have been here and have looked at several resources to guide us.(references below)

The MC in Ecuador groups has adopted some guiding principles for this journey:

1. Reduce, reuse, recycle

- bring and use a personal water bottle where possible (many also brought bacteria filters like LifeStraws to be able to do this more)

- be educated about biodegradable products (Ecuador travelers were conscious about bringing biodegradable products like soaps, sanitizer, laundry detergent where possible)

- Reduce waste through efficient use of food and water. (It was easier to take shorter showers in the jungle where they were really cold 😜)

- be conscious of our energy usage ( turning out lights, using public transportation, etc)

- be mindful of and pick up litter

2. Be informed

For us this meant learning about the locations, cultures and environmental issues related to where we were going to beforehand. What are the different issues the diverse ecosystems we are visiting are facing? What is the impact of tourism on the places we are visiting? What animals are endangered and what are the cultural products we need to be careful of? Ask questions when we don't know if products are endangered species or valuable artifacts. Be informed of the products we are buying.

Researching the destination involved each one of us writing a site paper on a location we were visiting and using tools like the CIA Factbook and Travel.State.Gov among other resources and blogs.

It has been hard to figure out taboos and norms with only a few days in each place and sometimes we have found that what we researched beforehand didn't seem accurate upon arrival.

3. Buy local

On this program we have carefully selected our providers based on a commitment to ensure our money goes into the local economy. We are committed to staying in locally-owned accommodations, using local and public transport, buying local and eating local (this is easier to do in a country where it is easier to find local establishments than international ones!). We have been conscious about spreading our spending across local communities as we travel and supporting local guides.

(Yes that is popcorn in my soup! So delicious!)

4. Be bold and engage with locals.

- Speak the language. Learn and use phrases from the local language as much as possible.

- Make an effort to learn from the people we encounter. Ask questions. Seek understanding

- Be aware of behavior norms, body language and local customs. Adapt behaviors and attitudes to be more successful culture learners.

- Learn to listen and speak with respect and represent different points of view

- Check your reactions. Learn to recognize your emotions and react appropriately for the situation.

- Recognize diversity in populations. Try not to generalize about norms and mores when it is not appropriate.

5. Evaluate sustainable practices of tourism providers.

- Since sustainability can mean many things, we want to make choices to support organizations that demonstrate care for the environment, animals and local culture. We used our resident horse expert (Kelsey) to help us decide if the horseback riding provider had healthy animals and good practices.

6. "First do no harm" (Hippocratic oath) but then also contribute something. We are looking forward to the opportunity to volunteer with Street Children in Quito. We are participating in this Planeterra project near the end of our program, but are looking for other ways that we can leave each space better than we left it by designating students with roles related to sustainability.

7. Seek out authentic experiences

Be it eating TREE GRUBS or GUINEA PIGS, or asking questions about the indigenous art we are buying, we will learn as much as we can about food, art, music and culture in authentic ways and environments.

We will learn about the place we are visiting. On our horseback ride in Banios we not only saw the region by horseback (clean energy ;)) but we also learned about the volcanic activity and remmenants of the area. We learned about traditional medicines and found pure spring water.

8. Leave your preconceived notions at home. Have an attitude that embodies openness to learning and difference. Be open to our common humanity. In our case, we were welcomed by the Quichua tribe in to his family. In a powerful connection of our humanity, Delfin drew symbols on our faces with achote. Each one had meaning to him and his traditions and were meant to keep us safe on our journey that day. In return he allowed us to put symbols on his face. Our group drew mountains to connect his mountains to ours on one side and a symbol of Maryville College (power M) on the other side.