The Hardest Part

I’ve been away for a while. I mean Peru . I have lots of things to share about our first international and longest backpacking trip, but first I want to continue with Ned’s interview. Sorry for the delay. He sent me the answers on time when I was out of this world trying to get the things done before the trip.

In case you don’t know Ned Cresswell yet, he’s the owner of the San Antonio Farm in the Intag region, here in Ecuador. Here are the previous questions and answers:

#1 From London to an isolated village in Ecuador

#2 Why sustainable tourism in San Antonio

My third question is:

For you, what`s the hardest part of being in charge of a farm? Are there things you’ve learnt the hard way?

Ned’s answer:

Well, perhaps the hardest part of being in charge of a farm is the endless work. In fact, I would say that it is closer to the truth that the farm is in charge of me! I generally start around 5am and finish about 7 in the evening – quite a long day.

Most things I have had to learn the hard way, as I had little experience either of farming or of the realities of life in Ecuador. For example, when I first started to milk the cow, I could just about get enough milk for a cup of coffee!

I try not to take life too seriously, but I have learnt that you do need to be a bit careful in Ecuador if someone asks you for a favour. There are certain situations where Ecuadorian law converts the favour into a legal right. For example, if someone asks permission to use the water on your land for their household, the moment you say “yes!”, you have given legal, irreversible right to that household to take water by hosepipe from your farm for ever after. A bit scary, because the favour is often requested (and therefore granted) as if it were trivial.

So yes, I have had to learn the hard way to be more cautious and guarded in my dealings with other people. A simple friendship, which is relatively common, for example, between two Ecuadorians or two Englishmen, is actually very rare, in my opinion, between an Ecuadorian and a “gringo”. Nearly always, the relationship is complicated by the perception that the “gringo” has money to spare, and can easily be parted from that money.

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Why Tourism In San Antonio

Ned Cresswell and Carlos

Ned Cresswell, owner of the San Antonio Farm is aswering a series of questions for a virtual interview about his interesting life in the San Antonio Community, in Ecuador.

Here my first question and his response: From London to an isolated village in Ecuador

My next question is:

Why is it important for you to promote tourism in the San Antonio Community and the Intag Region?

Ned’s answer:

Well, on a grand scale of course it is not important at all! We live in a crowded world of more than 6 thousand million people, in whose struggle to survive places like Intag are destroyed every day. The story of my own country, England, shows clearly how easily most people adapt to having their environment turned into a “concrete jungle”. So, in many people’s view, the huge copper deposits of Intag would amply justify the exploitation of the area.

My own point of view is different. As a biologist, I learnt that every species eventually reaches the point at which the growth of its population is no longer possible because the natural resources on which it depends have become exhausted, and its surroundings poisoned by its own waste products. And I think that man could be at this biological crisis point, or at least very close to it. If that is true, then how mankind cares for the environment over the next decades will be of the greatest importance.

I have no solutions to such complicated worldwide problems. All I can focus on is my adopted home of Intag, helping local people to continue being healthy, happy and productive, while conserving the native forests that capture the vital rainfall and maintain the rivers during the summer months. The increasing population of Intag also means that there must be alternative sustainable sources of income to supplement farming.

Tourism is one such possible source of income, and that is why I think it is worth promoting the natural wonders of San Antonio, the cotacachi nature reserve, and of Intag. We still have water here in abundance; the Alto Choco zone of which Intag is part is one of the wettest areas on the planet. If we take care of the forests, there could be plenty of water here for the years to come.

Ned

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Thanks for your answer! I really wish sustainable tourism thrives in the region so that the forest and species could be saved.

During our visit I was impressed by the crystal clear water of the streams, which is already very rare to find even in the country side. Here’s a picture I took:

And my next question for Ned:

For you, what’s the hardest part of being in charge of a farm? Are there things you’ve learned the hard way?

From London To A Remote Village In Ecuador

Remember about San Antonio Community I recently visited and blogged about?

In this isolated place I met Ned Cresswell, an English man who’s the owner of the San Antonio Farm, where Carlos and I stayed for a few days.

I found it very intriguing to know about Ned’s way from London to Ecuador, and about his decision to settle down in an isolated community as the only foreigner (besides, most of the locals are somehow relatives among them).

So I asked and Ned agreed to have a kind of informal interview about his life in the San Antonio Community. I’m looking forward to read his responses and I’m sure they’ll be of interest to my readers.

Here’s my first question:

Please tell us a bit about your previous life in England, why you decided to come to South America and then stay in an isolated village in Ecuador.

And Here’s What Ned Answered:

I grew up in Northumberland, which is a “province” in the North of England, bordering with Scotland. My parents are farmers, and have always loved life in the country. My happiest childhood memories are of riding horses and hunting birds in the woods – a typically destructive boy!

As I grew up, I realised that I would never be a farmer in the style of modernised, industrialised England. I studied botany, but as soon as I graduated I moved south and took work near London as a gardener. Over the next 15 years I tried a series of jobs: postman, lawyer’s assistant, driver, “noise nuisance” assistant (can you guess what that is? I don’t think it exists in Ecuador yet!). I enjoyed all these simple jobs, but never felt sufficiently interested to build a career in any one field.

In London I spent 10 years studying shotokan karate, and am very grateful for the excellent teaching that I received. I think that, without my interest in karate, it would have been difficult for me to have spent so many years in London, as I found myself increasingly reacting against many aspects of modern city life.

In 2005 I said goodbye to England and set off for a 2 year tour of central and south america, mainly working unpaid on small farms. I soon found that farming in the andes is unlike farming in England, because in the andean countries most of the farms are much smaller, and are cared for using more traditional methods by the family that owns the land. Perhaps this is partly due to the topography, which makes the land less suitable for industrialisation. I like this way of life, which I suspect was common in England 100 years ago.

My brothers expressed surprise at the news that I had decided to buy a small farm in a remote part of Ecuador, without much planning. However, I had lived under circumstances that did not really suit my character for most of my life, and so I did not need to think twice when at last I saw an opportunity to live in a way that was better fitted to my character.

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Thanks for your answer!

I get it when you say “without much planning”. The people of the community told me you made only one short visit before buying the farm. Sounds crazy!

I think it’s great you found a lifestyle that fits you and decided to go for it. I don’t see the point on struggling to live  under other people’s standards, and unfortunately it is what most people in the modernized world is trying to do.

It was fun to hear about your job as noise nuisance assistant…lol! – You don’t need one of them in your farm, for sure!

* This interview will  probably continue next week, as Ned access the Internet only on Sundays, when he goes to the town of Cuellaje.

Here’s my second question. Feel free to expand your explanations, as I myself am very interested in what you have to say.

Why is it important for you to promote tourism in the San Antonio Community and the Intag Region?