Unión de Organizaciones Campesinas de la Parroquia San Juan (UCASAJ)

Overview

Description

The San Juan Parish Union of Farm Organizations (Spanish acronym UCASAJ) consists of 23 indigenous communities of San Juan parish in the Riobamba canton, in Ecuador's Chimborazo province. The Center is 11 miles (18 kilometers) from the city of Riobamba, via the Chimborazo refuges; the communities are in the buffer zone of the Chimborazo Wildlife Reserve. The region is at 9,843 – 12,467 feet (3,000 - 3,800 meters) above sea level with an average temperature of 54 - 61º F (12 - 16º C).

UCASAJ is a gateway to knowledge - wisdom, legends, and traditions of the indigenous “cosmovision”. Visitors who explore these communities can learn about the local lifestyle; colorful clothing and native language helps the local people keep their culture alive. This prodigious land has a great variety of agricultural products with agro-ecological gardens that are a venue for learning about the Pachamama. These hard-working people make their area worth visiting.

Rooms

Four

Making a Difference

Number of employees: 12

Percentage of local employees: 100%

Twelve of the UCASAJ communities work on developing community-based tourism, conducting the administrative and operations tasks themselves; providers live in the commons nearby. The expenses of the Center are income for the families of the communities that provide products or services. Surpluses are reinvested in the maintenance and ongoing improvement of the center, support the development of tourism projects in the communities, provide permanent training for local talent, and fund other actions to improve the quality of life for the people and their communities.

The women proudly preserve their way of life through music, dance groups, and performing in different communities. They sell handmade goods and, with organic agriculture, are revitalizing healthy eating and the sovereignty of their families.

Their natural heritage includes water sources for the communities and the urban center, which encourages the conservation of the páramo, the slopes, and native forests. In this way they return to the earth part of what it gives them to live.

Rates

$51 – $75

"Sharing indigenous life" is a two-day package, and the price per person varies depending on group size. For more information about this package write corporacion@cordtuch.org.ec.

Getting There

Nearest international airport: Quito (UIO) and Guayaquil (GYE).

Nearest local/national airport: Chimborazo

Travel time to nearest airport: From Quito (approximately 3.5 hours); from Guayaquil (approximately 5 hours).

Distance, by land, to the nearest airport: From Quito, 99 miles (160 km); from Guayaquil, 149 miles (240 km).

The highway is paved.

Additional Information

Date This Information Was Provided

August 2009.

Photo courtesy of Unión de Organizaciones Campesinas de la Parroquia San Juan (UCASAJ), Ecuador, for SustainableTrip.org.