Intag Valley

The Intag valley is a very remote mountainous part of northern Ecuador. It is famous for it’s coffee growing area. People here hitchhike or travel in large lorries to get from one place to another. 60% of its population are poor and face malnutrition. They subsist on farming the land and raising cattle. There has been large scale copper mining in the valley and locals were threatened and beaten by the mining companies for resisting the mining in this important ecological area. The Intag valley borders the Cotacatchi Cayapas Ecological Reserve. In Junin ecotourism is developing and residents have built a lodge that allows tourists to enjoy the tropical cloud forest which is targeted for mining. I was very lucky to have my friend David Jackson, who lived with the locals, invited me to meet the local population and enjoy being in this beautiful valley. He is supporting an effort to give children transport to school as there is no school bus or transport system and children have to walk for miles to get to a school.