Guaranda is in a valley of the central Andes region of Ecuador in the Bolivar province, with a population of 55,374 and at an altitude of 8,753 feet. The city was officially founded by Spanish settlers in 1751. In 1811, the new settlers of the town and the original inhabitants of the land proclaimed their independence from Spain. Today, the region remains agrarian, now settled by mostly Quechua indigenous and mestizo individuals. Most elected officials and other positions of leadership are of Quechua descent. Many farmers here either live in Guaranda or come to Guaranda to sell their crops, but their finca (farm), are in the region, but further out. The main crops of the country are maize, potatoes, rice, plantains, and bananas, many of them holding important cultural meanings to those who grow them.

The growing town is surrounded by seven hills and the Chimborazo Volcano, the tallest peak in Ecuador, which overlooks the town and is visible on most days. My grandparents live in front of the patch of trees that can be seen on the bottom right-hand corner of the image on the upper-left.

Santa Fe, Bolivar, Ecuador

Santa Fe is located 5 kilometers outside of Guaranda. Santa Fe is mostly populated by indigenous agrarian communities, with families and their farms dispersed in the vicinity. Santa Fe is its own Catholic parish, and the town center has grown exponentially over the years. Although narrators like Doris were only able to attend school through elementary school in Santa Fe and then commute to Guaranda to finish their education, today Guaranda has education through high school, and buses and vans provide transportation into Guaranda and nearby townships.

The image below is Lucio and Rosa’s farm home. Although they no longer live there since their relocation to Guaranda when Doris had to continue her education, they visit the home multiple times a week when they are in Santa Fe to take care of the crops. Farmers from Santa Fe sell their crops locally in Guaranda, Santa Fe, and sell to distributors in the coast. The region of Santa Fe is hilly, with crops often growing in sometimes steep slopes.

The snow-capped mountain seen in the image is the Chimborazo Volcano, the closest point from the Earth’s core to the sun. Chimborazo has been vital in the agrarian identities of individuals who live in its presence, and acknowledgement of a changing climate takes place in the described imagery of community members mentioning that there is less and less snow in the volcano from where they farm.

Babahoyo, Los Rios, Ecuador

Babahoyo is located near the coast of the country, and its tropical climate make sugar cane, maize, and rice some of the ideal crops to grow. Rosa and Lucio own a few blocks of land in the region. With some of Lucio’s family living in the region and with extra income he was earning, Lucio purchased a few blocks of land in the outskirts of Babahoyo. Below is an image of Lucio in the middle with me (Anahí) and my brother Damian in his tactor. Lucio was one of the first in the region here and in Santa Fe to purchase a tractor in the peak of the Green Revolution around the world