The energy and bustle of the Thursday market in Salcedo makes you feel as if you are in a much larger town. Blocks surrounding the main marketplace are full of people hawking wares of all sorts – shoes, fútbols, toys, clothes, popcorn, grilled meat, and chawarminski (a Kichwa juice made of agave). A few blocks away you can buy seeds, calves or grown cows and bulls, pigs, chickens, or sheep. You can even bring clothes to be sewn or repaired, the whirring of the Singer sewing machines competing with vendors’ voices for space in the umbrella of echoes under the main produce market awning.

Keely McCaskie has been working for EkoRural as the coordinator of EkoRural´s Northern Highlands Program, and is currently working on EkoRural’s Central Highlands Program. In this interview, Keely elaborates on the role she has within the organisation. Q: How did you come to be involved in the work of EkoRural? Keely: "I came to Ecuador … Continue reading Interview: Keely McCaskie, EkoRural Coordinator

About a month ago, I visited the community of ‘Chitacaspi’ in the province of Carchi, Northern Highlands of Ecuador, as part of my internship at EkoRural. I went with Priscilla Prado, who is the Program Coordinator in the area, to interview two woman who are part of the Women’s Farming Organization of Chitacaspi. Chitacaspi is … Continue reading Women’s Farming Organization of Chitacaspi