Just to catch you up, I finished off the last few months of my trip in Archidona, Ecuador. It's a small jungle town 15 km away from Tena, one of Ecuador's gateways to the mysteries of the deep Amazon (some of which, i.e. the 15 meter snakes, will stay a mystery if I can do anything about it). I volunteered for an up and coming entrepreneurship called Runa.
Runa is commercializing a new tea-like beverage called guayusa (why-you-suh). And while profits are necessary for the good health of any company, Runa also focuses on environmental sustainability and social development. Check out www.runa.org if you'd like to learn more. I was fortunate enough to get to spend three months observing and aiding the process. Afterwards I went home to Durango with the intent of starting a life in my hometown. But Runa wasn't done with me. Between the excitement of joining an upstart company and the rewards of living in a land so unlike my own (not to mention the temptation of a paying job), Runa convinced me to link up with them again this year.
So, here we go again...
