Livin' la Vida Pura

I arrived in Ecuador in 1997 and throughout the past seven years have visited and worked with more than 600 rural families to encourage them to establish the Kallari Association, a small farmers' and artisans' organization dedicated to sustainable organic production of a diverse array of products, made up of 24 Amazon indigenous and mestizo communities, totaling 1,700 members. The farmers and artisans who make up Kallari are dedicated to meeting their basic economic needs without sacrificing Amazon rainforests, historical ethnobotanical knowledge, or cultural traditions.

When the Kallari Association's artisans and farmers are earning an annual income of no less than $2,500 per year per family. Compare this to when I arrived in the region, when a farm family earned little more than $500 per year and the main cash-crop markets available consisted of coffee, cocoa, corn, and timber.

Every day is very different and it is a little difficult to portray the scattered activities I am involved in.

I am from Kansas and spent most of my childhood in a farming village, where most families derived at least half of their income from farming. In high school and college, I had the opportunity to work at The Land Institute, an excellent nonprofit organization established to research sustainable agriculture. From there I received a scholarship to attend Beloit College in Wisconsin, where I earned a B.S. in environmental biology and Spanish.

I have more than 350 right now, but I try to keep it at less than 100. Unfortunately I spend much of June and July in the Amazon without internet access so I am still trying to catch up.

Extractive industries (specifically logging, oil, and gold mining in Ecuador) that use their power to manipulate local government, contaminate the landscape, and completely override labor and human-rights policies.

I have been amazed by the Ecuadorian people's willingness to share the little they have -- the shop owner a block from our apartment in Quito will gladly lend me food for a week or two, until I have the money to repay him for my staples.

Wichita, Kan., in the U.S. Tena or Quito, in Ecuador.

Although my parents were incredible examples of environmental stewardship, I rejected their frugal lifestyle until meeting my high school biology teacher, John Craft. He took the time to answer our probing questions about his life decisions and by doing so helped us realize that each of our actions have social, environmental, and economic impacts in other parts of the world. My general life goals and vocation were completely solidified by the time I was 16 years old and they have changed very little in the past 15 years.

I have been invited to accompany the Kallari board members to promote their cocoa at the Slow Food Salone de Gusto in Italy, the Terra Madre agricultural event, and the Eurochocolate Festival, all sponsored by Slow Food, for 11 days in October. I am concerned about preparing all of our presentation materials and handling the logistics of traveling with people who are not experienced backpackers.

The Ecuadorian president (who seems to have funded his election campaign through support from the U.S.) has proposed and is in the process of passing a bill that makes all genetic material, except human, property of the state. This includes all ethnobiological applications and basically overrides former international policies to protect the intellectual property rights of the indigenous nations of Ecuador. Although it may not be a direct environmental offense, I foresee that the long-term environmental effects of completely stealing a people's right to the intellectual use of their biological resources further threatens natural resources and obliterates their market potential.

I recently had the honor of meeting Judith Kimerling, the woman who researched and documented environmental and social violations by the Texaco oil company in Ecuador. Her work led to the current lawsuit against Texaco and has been an incredible motivation for me during my time in Latin America.

Dick Cheney and his puppet, George W. Bush.

I don't have the space or time to cultivate my own organic grains, vegetables, and fruits. I do look forward to a time when I can find an empty lot nearby and rent it to spend at least an hour each day growing enough produce for at least the bulk of my own nutritional requirements.

I often take public buses to Tena and to project visits that are more than 30 miles from Quito; however, I attempt to ride my bicycle or walk whenever possible when I am in the city.

Song of the Dodo, Beyond Backpacking, Cradle to Cradle, Good Stuff (Worldwatch Institute guide to consumer decisions), and I like to keep Dao de Jing with me to reflect on from time to time. I am awaiting the arrival of Stolen Harvest and recently finished Fast Food Nation and Savages.

I'm always satisfied after eating odd fruits and nuts all day and sitting down to a typical rural meal in the Amazon. The average dinner includes beans, rice, boiled plantains, manioc with chili sauce, fresh fish (cooked in leaves), and sweetened lemongrass or cinnamon tea to wash it down.

I am so busy that when a strike paralyzed the nation of Ecuador and the president was overtaken by a coup, I barely noticed.

My father paid me what I consider to be one of the greatest compliments when he said, "You are not only an environmental activist, but an active environmentalist." I have not purchased a new piece of clothing in years, or a new pair of shoes in over a year. I use natural soaps and leftover shampoo bits from other housemates. I put little effort into my personal appearance, ride my bicycle almost everywhere possible, and try to invest much of my meager earnings back into my work with Kallari. My material goals in life include never owning a combustion-motor vehicle, a television, or a DVD player.

I have yet to find somewhere as impressive as the rainforests of the Andes foothills, at the beginning of the Amazon basin.

Most of my friends and staff call me one, and I think they are correct, since I dedicated my career to the environment when I was young. I also consider myself a humanist and realize that we will not prevent habitat destruction until we take into account the social and economic factors that lead to environmental devastation, seek alternatives, and make them easily available to the most isolated rural people (who are the true stewards of the majority of the world's remaining private property of high biodiversity).

The Trip to Bountiful is one of my all-time favorites.

We use both, but I prefer Mac because it has much less risk of virus infection, and our database is on a Mac because they are much more reliable and user-friendly.

Although my work can be stressful, I love the challenge and could not imagine a job that would fulfill me more and capitalize better on my talents, experience, background, and interests. Even though I don't have children, I feel a tremendous responsibility and an honor that I have managed to find a career that not only helps the environment, but actually empowers people to protect their own rainforests.

Spend time with a child and make the effort to explain why it is important to live in modesty and learn to appreciate what you have. The incredible pressure on youth to purchase and consume needs to be balanced by discussion and a good example from their parents and other adults.