WHERE THEY WENT

By Diane Daniel | December 26, 2004

WHO: Kathleen Mills of Leominster

WHERE: Ecuador

WHEN: 12 days in June

WHY: ''The trip was targeted to female entrepreneurs to bring together people from different backgrounds," Mills said. ''I was instantly drawn. I do work to help develop small businesses, so part of this was to do outreach with that. Also, I've always been interested in the culture and history of South America. And third, I don't always do the typical vacations. I like to do things that bring me closer to the culture."

AMONG VOLCANOES: ''In Quito, the capital, we stayed at the Charles Darwin hostel, which was like a B&B with a beautiful courtyard" and a view of an active volcano, she said. ''There are 60 volcanoes in Ecuador, which makes for a very diverse climate. You go from farmland to the Andes to tropical rainforest to a desert-like climate."

TO THE JUNGLE: ''We took a nine-hour bus ride through the Andes. It was just like in the movies: narrow dirt roads and mudslides," Mills said. ''Eventually, we arrived on the Napo River, which feeds into the Amazon. People from the Ro Blanco community met us to take us in motorized wooden canoes for 20 minutes up the river." After a night spent in grass huts, they hiked five hours with their backpacks to get to the community, where they had arranged cultural exchange and economic development assistance. ''They're trying to develop ecotourism and really think [about] what they want. A lot of people are interested in visiting because of the shamans and alternative medicine." The Americans and locals shared meals and activities, and the visitors were treated to steam wraps using local herbs and plants. ''We also had a chance to attend healing ceremonies, a very sacred process."

TO THE MOUNTAINS: Before reaching the famous markets in Otavalo, in the Andes, the group stopped at the thermal springs in Papallacta. In Otavalo, they met with a crafters organization whose name translates to Women Hand Organization of Development. ''We got to learn about things they made and their display of goods. Seventy-five percent of people in Ecuador live in poverty. They shared their concerns about selling products and we gave some ideas." The group also enjoyed purchasing, as well as talking about, the handcrafts, Mills said.

BACK IN QUITO: The Americans also did outreach with two groups outside of Quito. The Women Composters of San Miguel Del Comun live in a desert area ''like a dustbowl," Mills said. ''An idea came up for these women to go into business creating organic fertilizer from waste from the market. They had a very good marketing plan but didn't have any money for transportation to get to the market. The Alliance Exchange gave them a donation of $2,000 and worked on a plan for how that will be used." For the Association of Women of Cutuglagua, they discussed potential markets for handcraft sales and will provide future feedback, Mills said.

HEADING SOUTH: They flew to Guayaquil and spent their final days at the Samai Center on the Pacific Ocean. ''There's a local community that is surfing paradise," Mills said. ''Samai has a spa and Tania is a shaman, and they do meditation. It was very relaxing, a great way to end the trip."