MARL Today Blog

Class XI utilized our time in Quito exploring the historic downtown district to utilize our network, social intelligence, problem solving, and communication skills to achieve aquiring almuerzo and leadership tasks without translators or guides.  The experience was fantastico and pushed us all out of our comfort zones.

After a scenic bus tour, the group was first taken on a walking tour of the Old Town. In small groups, everyone went to explore in “Amazing Race” style. The challenges were themed around: Customer Service, Fashion, Personal Service, Personal Property, Traffic, Communication, Roles, Technology. Every group received an envelope with their theme and three questions, related to observations, a specific challenge, and a discussion.

A sunny day concluded with a thunderstorm, and an early evening visit to the Virgin Mary Monument, overlooking the city of Quito.

Submitted by Cheryal Hills

Market, Guinea pigs, Barley & Hops

Saturday, April 2nd was definitely a highlight for MARL Class XI! We began the day with a trip to the central Otavalo market where we had a mission of collecting all the ingredients for Fanesca, a traditional Ecuadorian soup. The class split up into small groups to find the best ingredients while also getting a lesson in negotiating prices. It was an amazing experience to see all the different vegetables, fruits and grains that are not common in the U.S. it was also a wonderful opportunity to try out some of the new Spanish phrases we’d learned in the days leading up to this excursion. Overall, the entire group had a positive experience with the market and we were all sad to leave so soon. In the end, the items purchased were donated to a local charitable organization where they were received with gratitude.

After the trip to the market, the entire class visited the Cuyera Andina guinea pig farm. In Ecuador, Cuy, or guinea pig, is a delicacy, often eaten for special events or holidays like Mothers Day or Christmas. The facility was amazing and the veterinarian we spoke with was extremely knowledgeable. Did you know that a mother guinea pig can have up to 5 pregnancies/year averaging 3.5 babies per litter (totaling up to 70 babies/year/mother)! And… mother guinea pigs can be re-bred within 30 mins of giving birth.

Following the farm visit, Class XI were treated to the final step in the process by sampling what guinea pigs taste like at a traditional Ecuadorian restaurant in Chaltura. While not everyone tried this South American delicacy, there were a number of brave souls willing to give it a try. Overall, those who ate it said it was better than they would have guessed, but not necessarily a dish they would choose in the future. However, we can probably all agree that it’s more about the experience than the end result. In many ways, that’s what this international trip is about—the experience, or the journey, not the destination.

We finished the day at a craft brewery called Fortaleza which opened 9 years ago, developing from the owner’s brewing hobby. They had nine different craft beers, and shared that the most common hops used at their brewery were Columbus, Hercules, and Cascade.

In closing, even though we are only halfway through the trip, it’s pretty safe to say that everyone in Class XI has benefited from this experience, regardless of our individual destinations.

Submitted by Seminar Management Team “White”: Dylan Barth, Quyntin Brandt, Katie Knapp, Amy Smith, Erik Evans

Holy Guacamole, a sweet day!

Today we visited the Finca Uyama Avocado farm, just 19 miles from the Colombian border as the Condor flies. Finca Uyama is an organic farm, established in 2007. It is the largest avocado farm in Ecuador, consisting of 180 hectors of land and is a family owned run by a father and daughter. There are no seasons like we have in the US, so they are able to harvest and produce oil year round. Annual rainfall is 600ml/year, avocado needs 1,500ml so they use an irrigation system. Avocado trees do not self pollinate, so they have 40 bee hives on site to pollinate the trees. It takes 9 months for the tree to grow from a seed to be ready to plant in the field. It then takes about 4 years to produce a fuerte, 2 years to produce a Haas. Fuerte avocados are larger and smoother, Haas are smaller and thicker skinned. When the avocados are ready to be picked off the trees they will lose their shininess. Here the family prepared a wonderful lunch for us and we were able to sample and purchase a number of their avocado oil products.

We also visited the Tababuela Sugar cane farm/mill. This farm is 3000 hectors in size and is the only sugar mill in northern Ecuador. Due to the higher altitude, this sugar cane takes 18 months to mature (compared to 12 months along the coastline) and is harvested manually. It is a male dominated workforce, only one employee out or 300 is female and works in the harvesting and planting process. 50 or so employees work the fields. They have two main bugs that can cause damage to their stalks, similar to our insects with cornstalks in MN. When the sugar is ready to be harvested, they will first stop the irrigation for 30 days. Then, they will burn off the leaves then proceed with chopping the plants down by hand bringing in 1.25 metric tons of yield per hector.

We finished the day with a bus ride back to our hotel, where we gathered for dinner together at a local restaurant.

Submitted by Seminar Management Team Green: Sarah McConnell, Haley Ammann-Ekstrom, Joel Dorn, Jessica Miller

Stop and smell the roses (Day 2)

MARL Class XI officially had their first day full day in Ecuador. Starting out the morning in Otavalo, the class gathered for breakfast and then went over some previous sessions leadership concepts to be implemented during the trip. 

After going through expectations, the class hopped on the bus and headed to Fiorentina Flowers one of the 600 rose farms in Ecuador. The farm was 30 ha and was just starting to prepare for the Mother’s Day holiday. Through out the tour the class learned about how altitude impacts flower growth, how production is measured in two ways stems per meter per year or production of stems per plant per month and the rose export market.

94% of the roses in Ecuador are exported through out the world. Russia used to have 35% of that market, then it dropped to 20 percent and now 0. 15% of the crop is exported to Europe. The US also receives a lot of roses from Ecuador with Topco being one of the main companies that purchase Ecuadorian roses. 

For the major holidays Valentine’s Day and Mothers days Roses are shipped and flown to the US early. For example, for Mother’s Day they start shipping on April 10th. 

Market access includes selling to the wholesale market and the retail market.

After the rose farm, the class headed into town and ate lunch at a local cafe where they had chicken and rice, lentil soup, a salad, some tea and cake.

Then it was time to go to Equator. Ecuador means equator in Spanish. Ecuador has many different names including Republicans del Ecuadoral and it is the only country in the world to be named after a geographical feature. 

Standing at the Quitsato Solar Clock, the presenter gave the group different perspectives and facts about the equator. The clock works to help understand the movements of the sun, the procession of the seasons, agricultural calendars and the history of our modern calendars.

Back long ago, the indigenous people utilized the Andes mountains and discovered how to orientate earths orientation in correlation with the suns positioning based on the fixed position of the mountains. No other country in the world is able to do that as that had no fixed points to do so. 

Mountain Cayambe, part of the Andes, helped the indigenous people to understand the earths rotation and is the highest point crossed by the equator and the only place where the place has snow covered mountains one equator making this the only place to have tropical glaciers. 

After learning about the equator, the group got to go to a small agave garden right by the equator line and learned more about tequila production and local bamboo. The class then got to try a sample of local agave products.

Later in the afternoon, the group got to immerse themself in the Ecuadorian culture. They visited a local craftsmen who made professional instruments from local materials at his home. His family entertained the group with a musical performance and a demonstration of building one of his products.

The other cultural tour consisted of a local artisan who demonstrated turning wool into yarn, using a loom and the process of creating and making blankets, clothing and other products.

To end the day, the group gathered for dinner at a local restaurant and enjoyed potato soup, trout and some crepes.

Fun facts of the day:

-Ecuador is self sufficient in rice and milk production.

-A school teacher is paid $825 a month.

-A entry level rose worker makes $425 a month.

-A common treat in Ecuador is the bizcocho, which the class got to enjoy.

-Families tend to live together or close by each other and have to see their family at least once a week.

-Ecuador does not have traditional growing seasons as they are on the equator and have one growing seasons. They have 12 hours of light and 12 hours of dark.

-Ecuador has a very diverse climate depending where you are resulting in a diversity of crops that can be grown in the county.

-The full monty is a new variety of roses that will be out in the next 12 months.

-Ecuador is one of the countries that you can see the whole constellation at certain times of the year. 

Submitted by Jana Stangler and Kaelyn Rahe

Day 1 was the travel day, when the group traveled from Minneapolis via Atlanta to Quito. An uneventful day; all arrived safely and on time at the Quito airport. From there, tourguides Ivan and Mateo, picked us up by touring car, to take us to Otavalo. There, the group could start their night rest.

Friday kicked off with peer learning circle meetings to discuss capstone projects and engage in a morning activity related to processing change. Throughout the MARL experience, our peer learning circles have been a great asset, allowing each of us to bounce ideas off one another and forge connections with others who can provide feed-forward. To tie it together, the last content presentation addressed group dynamics. This complimented our first day topic related to effective meeting facilitation, as group dynamics certainly play a critical role in accomplishing a necessary task at any successful meeting.

As the Seminar Management Team, we identified three key themes with which we left the St. Paul seminar.

• Be The Leader You Need: Our group reflected on what makes a meeting successful or frustrating, learning how to intentionally engage and support ideas from all, and be mindful of group dynamics. When implemented, this knowledge will have an immediate effect on those of us engaged with meeting facilitation and supportive leadership.
• Open-Mindedness: This theme was reiterated by several speakers throughout the seminar. The State Representatives, Patrice Bailey, and Bill Gordon each specifically suggested leading through listening and engaging with an open mind. This attitude will be essential to making Ecuador an enjoyable, educational experience.
• Communication is Critical: Communication continues to be a priority in order to get our message out and correctly received; it is critical for leadership. While Wednesday’s presentations focused on communication, additional speakers highlighted the importance of communication as well.