Shake it Off - Earthquake Relief in Ecuador

We've put out a plea for you guys to help us build housing in Ecuador for the Earthquake victims. And you guys pulled through! Now you can follow our adventures and see how your money is being spent =D

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Looking for coconuts and other creatures

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Freshly cut coconuts

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Jungle jaunts and modest means

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Colors of the jungle

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On walking in someone else's shoes

Today I woke up to the sound of roosters and the rain … at 4am. I am laying in this village called Mamey exhausted but feeling like all that traveling was worth the last 24 hours. We started with a jungle hike on the search for monkeys. We heard them but we didn’t get to see any. However, I did get to see a lot of different plants, animals, and a different way of life. I kept asking Nancy, is that normal? Yes. In the middle of the jungle, sweaty and rain boots covered in mud, our guide pulls a cocoa pod off a tree, uses his machete to cut it open, and hands us each one to eat the juicy meat off the beans. Jungle snacks. The machete is really there to blaze our hiking path.

There was so much rain today that the roads and pathways were very muddy. While waiting for the rain to stop, we sat and chatted with the family. Neighbors come and go, but everyone gives a kiss on the cheek and shares their food. The adult daughters who are also staying in this house with their children really like to paint nails so we gave each other manicures. Is this what it’s like to have sisters?

When the rain stopped, a family member drove us to the next ‘town’ over on the one dirt (well, muddy) road that connects each small village. The road doesn’t have a name, they just call it the highway - la carretera. We hike up some of the muddiest conditions I have ever walked in (still in those rain boots) to get up to the coconut farm where the brother-in-law cut some coconuts down, hacked it open with his machete, and hands it to me to drink out of. It doesn’t get better than that. We had to play pass the coconut to get ourselves back down the muddy incline without spilling!

We had just enough daylight left to walk through this village (which included wading through a river) to meet other members of the family. Everywhere you go, you are offered an orange that was just picked, and peeled only enough so you can squeeze the juice out of the top. The best orange juice available. With all the fresh food, it’s no wonder people feel so good.

The means are modest, for sure. I’ve never showered with a bucket of water dragged from the river. I’ve never had to walk ankle deep in mud and water to get anywhere, let alone EVERYWHERE. I’ve never slept in a house without glass or screen windows. The people who live here live modestly and happily. Ravaged by earthquakes in the last two years, the towns people all help each other to rebuild their homes and their lives. It’s always a group effort because it’s all in the name of making someone’s life easier. Many of the family members that we stayed with have lived in other towns and big cities before. They’ve all come back though, because while maybe it’s a little more work to get clean water, they all said that they feel better and are happier here.

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An outside perspective on visiting Mamey

[goldfabulous11]

I spent the majority of the last two days in an airport, on planes, or on a bus. Sometimes sitting back and enjoying the ride is a nice introduction. We drove over and through the Andes mountains, past palm tree fields, and zig zagged down dirt roads. I was welcomed and humbled by the generosity and hospitality of a local family, and got to eat the epitome of an authentic and local home cooked meal. My room has a curtain for a door, my windows are covered in mosquito nets, I pee behind shower curtains and dump a bucket of water down the toilet to flush. Children are gleefully running through the house and flinging my curtain door open to play peak a boo. Tomorrow I will be awoken by the chickens and the sun, and shower with a bucket of water. Sweet is the simple life.

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I'll be sharing a few of my friends posts about her stay in Mamey!

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Visited Mamey with @goldfabulous11 where we got this bird's eye view! All of the pink circles are houses that we've built since last year. You can see 8/12 of them in this pic.

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We started getting the last septic tank together! The construction worker came back on Monday to finish the job since it started raining on Sunday and the blocks were wet. 3 houses will share this septic tank. 

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Not everyone wanted a bathroom because some people had access to bathrooms. Some people wanted a metal roof. Since putting in a bathroom and providing a metal roof were about the same price, people could choose which they preferred. 5 families chose roofs over bathrooms and we complied!

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We built four septic tanks while we were in Mamey during the week of March 16th! We still have one to go and need to hook up the toilets so we’re going back down April 7-9 to do so! 

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On March 16th Carlos and I went back down to the coast to put bathrooms in for the people of Mamey! Thanks so much to Angel who had everything ready for us when we got down there! All we had to do was pay

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Carlos and I went back down to the coast finally to put in the bathrooms. Thanks so much to Angel who got everything organized in the hardware store for us so it was ready to go when we got there!

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Here’s another update!

Carlos oversaw the building of the last three houses and floor pouring. We’ll be going down to put in bathrooms in the houses on January 16 thanks to some extra money we raised in October and some awesome tourists from the Ecolodge I work in helping out! 

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Cristina Vinueza took these videos right after the earthquake happened (left) and this month - January 2017 (right) There’s still lot’s of work to be done! 

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Carlos got down to Mamey the week between Christmas and New Years! We got the last three houses in and the floors done! 

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I posted this on my facebook a few days ago.

But here’s an update on the housing project! We’re getting houses done this week!

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I closed the generosity RAISE THE ROOF fundraiser.

I know it only *looks* like we received 50% of the funds, but we are actually fully funded! Counting the money from this GENEROSITY page, working with my high school, selling earings at my entomology conference and a donation from a generous donation directly to my PayPal... we raised a total of

******$4,200******

We've already built three houses. So that leaves us with ******$3,000******* to build three more houses. We'll obviously have money left over but Carlos and I have some plans - like bathrooms.

First I'd like to thank my high school Kingswood-Oxford (Kingswood Oxford Alums) for helping me and Meg Tabell Kasprak for not only being an awesome English teacher but a solid partner and friend getting this off the ground.

We organized a dress down day (where students could pay to not follow the business-like dress code). From that we raised **$900!**

After I sold earrings and pendants (the same that are available here!) at the ICE 2016 conference. From that we raised *****$2200!**** (For those of you who I said $2500 ... math is hard). Thank you Derek, Floyd, Miles, Aaron, Jake, Morgan, Jonathan Lason, Rachel, Ralph,Entsoc America, Julie, James, Joe, and countless others who promoted my work, kept me company, helped me build earrings, sent people my way, and people who bought jewelry.

Finally we had a donor who generously donated $500 before this page went up. His donation message: " I'm a video game artist but I love nature and insect photography. I found you by reading an article about how the new pokemon game is getting people interested in real insect hunting. I am very blessed to make a decent living so If you ever want to see my insect photography my Instagram is YemYam. Have a good day! :)"

Thanks SO much! Since April we've raised *********$7500 to build 12 houses!*********** Which is absolutely ridiculous and I can't thank you enough for caring about my family away from home so much <3

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Dad came to visit Mamey and he helped us build a little swing set for the little kids. Pictured above is a big kid on the big kid swing set ... >.>

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We had movie night! Brought a sheet, my projector, and my speakers and we all had a great time. #movie #riseofthegaurdians #outdoormovie