How we started OWMO Expeditions: 1st - 4th Expeditions in ECUADOR

Co-living with the indigenous community Tsáchilas

1st Expedition - date: April/May 2017

Our first expedition was to visit an indigenous family in Ecuador, on their own land.

Based on the premise that each new expedition is unique, the environment, the budget, and all the daily activities of of an indigenous family can change over time.

With our small group, as part of our pilot project, we lived together for about 3 weeks with an indigenous family in Ecuador.

This expedition took place from 19 April to 15 May 2017.​

The programme of the 1st Expedition

After visiting this community several times between 2014 and 2016, we paid them a visit again in the first half of 2017. The aim was to provide them with a financial and volunteer support. The focus of the first expedition was on volunteering in the many activities of daily life in the indigenous community. Among others, this included several trips, a visit to the surrounding area, and participation in numerous ceremonies (to gain spiritual experience). As a result, all members of the group were welcomed by the family as friends, but not as tourists!

2nd Expedition - date: October/November 2017

What Happened during the Expedition....

As always, it all started in Quito. With the group, we spent two days in the city, and despite the gloomy weather, we managed to cross the 4000 meters above sea level, on the hill that is the starting point of the natural path leading to the Pichincha volcano. But after two hours of walking up the hill, a threatening cloud appeared, accompanied by a hailstorm that hit us hard, so we had to return to the cable car in a hurry. At that point, there was at least 5 cm of ice and snow. This is one of the most beautiful and unexpected aspects of the mountain. The next day we were able to reach the community and resumed our cultural and spiritual activities, such as collecting cocoa nuts, drying beads, roasting and producing homemade chocolate, collecting medicinal plants from the remote areas of the community and the jungle, learning their properties + their names in the Tsafiki language. It is possible to organize a 1-day or 2- day trips. This is an opportunity to learn how to use the energetic and healing extracts of these plants (colonias) for our personal needs.

1. Collection of cacao nuts, drying of beads, roasting and production of own chocolate.

2. The collection of medical plants from the remote parts of the community and from the jungle, learning about their properties + their names in tsafiki language. It is possible to organize trips for one or two days. We will learn how to makea healing and energetic extracts from them (colonias) for your own use.

3. These include, for example, a ritual hair painting obtained from the seeds of the Achiote plant and the techniques of weaving traditional clothing, a ritual and spiritual body

painting with the Huito fruit used for making the protective circles and playing the traditional musical instrument, the Marimba.

1. The collection of local ingredients such as chili, avocado or pineapple, assistance in the harvesting of plantains and yucca and in the preparation of food in the kitchen, and traditional meals.

And one must not forget many excursions such as :

1. A two-day excursion to the nine waterfalls of the La Selva Real Reserve, where you will sleep on site. Prepare a fire and food, bathe in the waterfalls, purification ceremonies, or go hiking in the jungle to discover the local fauna and flora.

2. Visiting a highly energetic archaeological site, and discovering the local fauna of the region.

3. Prepare the sugar cane juice, discover one of the local manufacturing techniques and enjoy the production of juice and fresh fruit.

4. A new journey to visit another Tsáchila family and discover their customs and traditions.

5. A visit to different parts of the community and members of our indigenous family.

6. Swimming in the rivers …​

3rd Expedition - date: April 2018

What Happened during the Expedition....

As always, it all started in Quito. This time we were lucky enough to witness two strikes. A a result, moving freely around the city became difficult, but despite that, we eventually got through. We then made our way to the house of an indigenous family whose house is near the city of Santo Domingo. This time, during the three days we spent in the capital, the weather was quite cloudy, with a thick fog, which forced us to shorten our hike on the Pichincha volcano.

As soon as we arrived in the community, we immediately resumed our usual activities.

This time, we spent less time with the family of the indigenous community, which enabled us to visit other regions of Equatorial Ecuador. We spent 5 days exploring the Pacific coast, its beaches and fishing villages. Then we came back to see the indigenous family and continued to explore the local flora and fauna and spend some time with the family.

4th Expedition - date: November 2018

What Happened during the Expedition....

On this particular occasion, we spent less time with the family in the community, which enabled us to visit other parts of Ecuador. We spent 5 days exploring the Pacific coast, with its beaches and fishing villages. Then we returned to the indigenous family and continued to explore the nearby local wildlife, and then enjoy being with the family.