Training in Las Mercedes (Take 2)

My coworker, Edwin, was back in Las Mercedes for the second of three business training trips, and here are some pictures and stories to the stories from the January trip.

Rice fields in Las Mercedes

 To give some background on Las Mercedes, this community is located in the coastal region of Ecuador.  Unlike the mountainous Quito, which has very mild, almost constantly spring weather, Las Mercedes has a tropical climate with distinct rainy and dry seasons and higher temperatures.  Since Ecuador is currently in the rainy season, a farming community like Las Mercedes adjusts by planting rice to take advantage of the weather.  They also keep some corn and vegetables year round, and some farmers even have cocoa growing on their land.  With hard rains recently, the rivers are swollen.  One farmer told Edwin that his pastures are on the other side of the river from his house and farm.  Since he has several cows, this means that the animals must swim across the river each morning and evening for milking.  When asked, the farmer proudly stated that he had never lost a cow to that river.

Cows are not the only animals that are raised in Las Mercedes.  Edwin visited a young girl who raises chickens to pay for her education.  Since she was in high school, she has cared for the chickens with minimal assistance from her parents.  Not only is she gaining a great education, but she is learning responsibility and a strong work ethic as well.

Leonel is another hard worker from Las Mercedes, and he has also learned how to adapt to different environments.  For seven years he worked as an executive chauffer in Guayaquil, earning top dollar for his line of work.  When the business failed, he lost his job and was unable to find another in the large coastal city.  Moving back to the land of his birth, Leonel, his wife, and two children returned to agriculture to create a livelihood.  Leonel now raises pigs and dairy cows while also growing cocoa and oranges.

These are just a few of the many stories of those who are part of the Las Mercedes community.  Together they raise crops and animals that will feed the rest of their country, and they live, work, and learn together from week to week.  During the recent training visit, the 20 participants worked on homework and activities together, but also taught each other important lessons in other ways.  Half of the group arrived late on the first day, so as a “punishment” they had to stay late and create a skit to entertain the rest of the group.  To ensure that everyone understood the lesson on customer attention, the group rounded up some items from the room, divided into groups, and exhibited the extremes of excellent and horrible customer service.  Needless to say, everyone arrived punctually the next day and knew exactly what excellent customer service entails.