After meeting with Casa mis Sueños in Quito, we traveled to Cayambe, a rural town about an hour north of Quito. Also located in the highlands of Ecuador, the weather was mild and dry. We learned the main economic driver for the area is flower plantations.
During our drive, we saw roadside stands with several dozen roses selling for $5. The white rectangles of the greenhouses for the flower plantations littered the landscape.
Our friends in Cayambe, SUMAK, provide support to indigenous Cayambe and Otavalo women who have experienced domestic violence and intervene on child labor law violations. We graduated twelve students from the SUMAK group who were seeking to achieve financial independence, thus having more power over their lives.
SUMAK is one pillar in a larger organization that also provides a health clinic, a foster home for at-risk children, and community development to the local community. Students of Unlocking Your Design met weekly at the group home for children, one of the first of its kind in the area. The group home allows indigenous children of who have been removed from their families to stay in their community and maintain appropriate relationships with their families as they work to be reunited.
While in Cayambe, we were lucky enough to visit two of our students at their businesses: Hortezia, who sells milk from her five cows, and Gloria, who owns a bakery on the equator with her family. Stay tuned for highlights on those visits!
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