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OTAVALOVIDEOS.COM |
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Rural Andean Community |
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All otavalovideos.com videos are owned and copyrighted 2010 by Frank M. Kiefer. Reproduction is prohibited. All rights reserved. If you have any questions or any videos of the Otavalo area that you wish to contribute, please write to videos@otavalovideos.com. |
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Do you have any videos of the Otavalo area that you wish to contribute? Please write to videos@otavalovideos.com. |
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The Indigenous campesinos near Otavalo are responsible for maintenance of roads passing through their villages. Through the ancient tradition of Minga, community members work for a few hours two Sundays of each month. Note the general mood. |
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The Essence of a Minga |
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With the financial assistance of travelers, the village of Yambiro has spent three years building a Community Health Center. This is Part 1 of a video documenting the construction. Completion is near and OtavaloVideos will follow progress from start to finish! |
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The Construction of the Yambiro Community Center |
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Master builder Jaime Ramirez explains this community project on the first day of preparation at the construction site. Building materials are moved to the site by hand by community members. Young and old participate. |
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The Construction of the Yambiro Community Center, cont |
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In the rural communities near Otavalo, the Minga is taken quite seriously! The Andean custom of working for the benefit of the community predates the Incans by hundreds of years. This Minga was called to repair canals that bring irrigation water to the village. |
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Community Minga |
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Part 3 of a video documenting 3 years of labor by community members! There is no road so building materials can not be delivered very near to the construction site. Truckloads of sand and other materials are passed down by hand to the site little by little. |
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The Construction of the Yambiro Community Center, cont. |
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Imagine building a two story community center and clinic by hand! That is exactly what the community of Yambiro is doing using the ancient method of Minga, with financing by travelers. In part four, the men of the community prepare the rebar support columns. |
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The Construction of the Yambiro Community Center, cont. |
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Sra. Maria Enma Perugachi, president of the small Andean community of Yambiro, speaks (in Quechua) of the many needs that the construction of the Yambiro Community/Health Center will address. These needs are common throughout the Andean rural areas! |
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The Needs of the Andean Indigenous Communities |
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The Ecuadorian federal and local governments have provided little for rural communities since the "dollarization" and World Bank restructuring of the economy in 2000. Obtain the materials and community members gladly provide the labor, it's as simple as that! |
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The Construction of the Yambiro Community Center, cont. |
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The first few truck loads of materials were passed down to the building sight by hand during the first few mingas. Moving tonnage the 100 mtrs. got old quickly so someone suggested they all build a road that morning…...and that is exactly what they did! |
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The Construction of the Yambiro Community Center, cont. |
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Dr. Allison Hall and Sr. Patricio Castro spent two weeks in two small Indigenous villages near Otavalo working with the children of the local schools. They taught health, art, phys. ed. and provided the kids with a great experience. This is their video. |
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Working in the Rural Schools |
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Minga - a documentary |
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Community unity through Minga brings water to the Otavalo campesinos. Five communities lived without water for almost four years. With funding for materials, the reparation of the main reserve tank was achieved through this ancient Andean tradition. |
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With Adobe Flash Player V. 10 you can stream some of our Otavalo movies. They are best viewed with a high speed connection. Enjoy. |
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A Saturday morning visit to the Otavalo Animal Market is still one of my favorite things to do! Cuy is a Andean Indigenous delicacy offered to guests of honor at fiestas. Buying a cuy is not easy. It involves close examination and good negotiation technique. |
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Buying a Cuy |
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Campesinos throughout the Sierra of Ecuador are harvesting the most important crop of the Andean Indigenous people, Maize. José Maria Perugachi and his entire family spent the day today working in the fields. Notice that even the children participate! |
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Harvesting Maize |
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Otavalo Videos |
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Write to us at Otavalo Videos are in Spanish and Quechua. |
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Christmas for the rural Indigenous children of the Andes is a time to receive candy and animal crackers. I have finally found time to edit a video taken a few months ago when our foundation distributed navidades to over 200 children from the community of Yambiro. |
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Navidades 2009 |
