One defining topic of my time and studies in Ecuador has been ‘Hierarchies’. A hierarchy is ‘a system or organization in which people or groups are ranked one above the other according to status or authority’ (Hobson). In geopolitics, there are definitely hierarchies depending on what measure you are using.
I started EcoStudio Foundation with dear friends to support frontline communities and conservation initiatives in Ecuador. As we send out our 2023 impact report, I’d like to share a story behind how it started.
The ecological footprint is a measure of one’s impact on the environment according to activities or lifestyle. In the course, “Environmental Sustainability in Ecuador,” students calculated their ecological footprints using online tools and reflected on the findings.
This report is dedicated to Fernando Alcibíades Villavicencio Valencia (1963-2023), who fearlessly fought corruption as an activist, journalist, lawmaker, and, finally, presidential candidate. In August, he was killed for his commitment to justice.
His legacy, however, will never die.
The water was wide and flat and it crawled over stones. Low in summer, the river became a rocky bed of pools. Pregnant with snowmelt in the first cracking days of spring, it was a force you did not enter.
