Okay, you've figured out I’m in Ecuador working on maps for an indigenous tribe. So what’s it all about? - I’ll try to explain, but there’s no book on the subject and I’m learning as I go.
Sometime the1960s the Ecuadorian government ceded over several parcels of land to the indigenous Tsáchila tribe who were holding on desperately to the little land remaining from the explosion of development in the area around them. 30 years before, the Tsáchilas lived deep in the forests, hunters of small game - dressed in striped skirts, bare chested and adorned with seed necklaces. Gumercindo Aguavil the current Tsáchila governor recounted to me the tale of his father-in-law who took a stand against mestizo encroachers. After decades of receding further into the forests, they came to a point where there was nowhere else to go. They found themselves surrounded by farms, ranches and small towns. The loss of land meant the loss of habitat for the small game they hunted for food. Pollution of rivers and over fishing left them with no options. Meeting at a river crossing and armed with only machetes and a few arms Gumercindo’s father- in-law announced that they would flee no more and that their land would only be taken upon blood being spilled. The band of mestizos backed down and agreed on the boundary. This area is now known as Congoma, one of the 8 Tsáchila communities.
The official acknowledgment from the government and the “gifting” of land in the 60s served more as a politically correct “statement” with no enforced regulations. The land continued to shrink from encroachers and illegitimate land sales. One community has completely been lost. Once nomadic hunters and gatherers, the Tsáchilas were forced into adapting to the changes by becoming farmers. With no education past elementary school and no traditional ties to agriculture their farming practices are ineffective and haphazard. The Santo Domingo area is semi-tropical and has highly productive land… that is for farmers with training and modern techniques. There is a stark difference in the yield per hectare between the mestizo and Tsáchila farmers, with the Tsáchilas harvesting far less. Compounding the problem is that the land given to them was never evenly distributed amongst the people. Some individuals cultivate 30 hectares whereas most families live off of a couple hectares. The parents divide and pass on their land to their children, creating fractured and noncontiguous parcels of land further reducing the cultivation potential. Low crop yield and small amounts of land result in the families not being able to earn enough to support themselves much less dig themselves out of the poverty they are born into. Out of necessity many Tsáchilas have left their homes and culture to find other opportunities in nearby towns.
So how does a GIS mapping project fit into the picture? Governor Aguavil has seen the many changes and degradation thru the past 3 decades: the worsening standard of living of his people and especially the loss in cultural pride, heritage and language. He has been working to create a “Plan de Vida” which identifies each of the existing and impending problems and the corresponding proposals to fix the issues. He contracted a company called Tapirus to make cadastral maps of the 7 remaining communities. The maps include roads, rivers, structures, public spaces, and most importantly property boundaries of land owners. I was fortunate enough to get networked with Tapirus in my final 2 weeks in Ecuador. For 2 weeks I digitized all of these features for the community of Los Naranjos. The following week the Tsáchila government administration presented these maps in conjunction with the Plan de Vida to the Ecuadorian Ministry of Development. The maps are the quantitative representation of the dire need of the Tsáchilas. Each map included a list of land owners and the area of land in their possession. The statistic breakdown revealed that 80% of the Tsáchila people live on less than 1 hectare. The intent of this presentation is 1) to make aware the public officials and 2) petition for money for the implementation of initiatives in the Plan de Vida.
Tsara Ma Joe - Tenga un buen dia - Have a nice day