February

Andes and Amazon Field School (2-5-20)

February 5, 2020

Andes and Amazon Field School

Ecuador Research and Study Abroad at the Intersection of Indigenous Culture and Environment

The mission of the Andes and Amazon Field School is to provide quality in-country education on the Ecuadorian Amazon in a safe and comfortable setting. Each summer we bring together a top group of academic and indigenous experts for 8 weeks of learning and research. Together with students we seek to interpret and preserve the culture and environment of the region and to find practical solutions for a sustainable future.

The name of the station that hosts the Field School is “Iyarina,” (ee-yah-ree-nah), a Quichua word that means to think about the future by remembering the past. According to Quichua tradition memory is recorded in the land. Iyarina, therefore, means to remember by contemplating the land. This act of remembering lies at the heart of our efforts to record and preserve Amazonian tradition.

Our logo, Iluku (ee-loo-koo) seated on a crescent moon represents Iyarina as this act of remembering.

According to tradition the acts of creation separated Ilucu from her lover who became the moon. When the moon comes up she remembers him and cries. When people hear her plaintive sound they too remember the historical separations and sacrifices that have made our present world a habitable and convivial place.