Last Spring, I worked for a non-profit organization in Ecuador. This organization works in several indigenous communities in the highlands of Ecuador. This is one of the towns I lived in. It is called Romerillos and has about 500 inhabitants.

The non-profit organization that I worked for is called FEDICE. This organization gives loans to indigenous women to help them start their own agricultural projects. These projects consist of growing vegetables or raising animals to sell at the local markets.

This is the main road in the town. This town is at an elevation of about 11,000 feet. The mountains in the background are called the Illinizas. These mountains reach about 20,000 feet in altitude.

This is Cotopaxi Volcano. It is 20,900 feet tall. This picture is also taken from the main road in Romerillos. This orange building in the picture is the town's preschool.

This is a house of one of the women we support. She raises sheep for a living.

This is another house of a woman we support. She raises pigs for a living.

Every day the women work hard in the fields that surround their homes.

This is Gladys. She raises guinea pigs for a living. Once they are at full size, she can sell them at the market for about five to eight dollars each.

This is Alicia. She grows onions for a living. In this picture, she is showing me how to cultivate the onions. It is very hard work.

In this picture, I am at Edith's house feeding her chickens. She will raise these chickens and then sell them at the market.

This is Dora's cow. She milks her cow every morning at 7am and every evening at 5pm. She makes about $7.00 a day from her cow's milk.

It is common for the women to keep some of the milk for their families. Dora gave me some fresh, hot cow milk for my morning cup of coffee.

The women in Romerillos work hard every day. When their produce is ready to be sold, off to the market they go!

I had a wonderful time getting to know the people of Romerillos. The women are some of the hardest workers I have ever met. FEDICE will continue to work in Romerillos and help these indigenous women make a living and be successful.