Jim Harsdorf has been part of a church mission trip that has been going to Ecuador for 16 years. He spoke to us about how the relationship with the Lote Tres community in rural Ecuador has evolved over that time, and how beneficial the consistent travel and contact have been. Ecuador has 17 million people, and it's located on west side of South America. Much of the country is mountainous, including the remote area where Lote Tres is located -- at an elevation of about 13,500 feet. Long after lowland areas were visited by Catholic missionaries, Swedish missions started in the 50’s going to the mountainous areas of Ecuador. The Swedes found that there was a great need for mission work in those areas.
The economy of the village of Lote Tres has both agricultural and dairy aspects. The agricultural connection turned out to be an addition to the connection between the River Falls First Covenant Church and Lote Tres. The primary cash crop is a type of onion, and Jim showed us slides of greenhouses where roses are grown for export. In contrast to many areas where economic development is needed, Lote Tres has good water resources.
Jim noted that the FCC group stays about a 45 minute drive down the mountains from the village because facilities in Lote Tres are very limited.. Jim noted that domestic abuse is an issue that the mission group tries to address at its men’s day. As a way to convey the message of men taking care of their wives, a men’s day project was making rice Krispies bars. The bars can be made with minimal use of resources and equipment.
Jim showed slides from about 10 years ago showing early construction of the church. Current work includes painting, new flooring of the main church building, which made a major difference in the building.
A focus on economic development began when the people of Lote Tres found out that Jim is a dairy farmer. A major barrier to getting milk to market has been the lack of refrigeration, which makes it necessary to drink any milk produced within about 1 day. With some looking around the area, the group found another village that was much more developed from which lessons could be learned. Eventually they worked out a way to get a bulk tank that allows a more economically viable dairy business.
The FCC group also got involved with the local school for the village, including the village church's pastor and Jim doing a sex education lesson for 9-14 year old boys. Recently the group has engaged a retired horticulture professor as a resource for guiding improvements in that area of the Lote Tres economy.