Ecuador Girl. © CARE USA.Ecuador has substantial oil revenues, but indigenous people have not benefited proportionally from these revenues to stimulate economic growth.
Since 1962 we’ve been working to improve the standard of living of indigenous ethnic groups through a range of projects.
Earning a decent living
In the Amazon basin, we help local communities’ market indigenous fruit under the fairtrade label, ensuring they get a fair price for their products. We also help them preserve bio-diversity by establishing seed nurseries for endangered plants.
Ecuador is also one of the countries where we work with microfinance institution partners to offer financial support to small business entrepreneurs. This takes the form of micro loans, through our lendwithcare programme.
Helping children get a good education
Children of minority ethnic groups in this country only attend school for an average of four years, compared to the national average of more than seven.
Although Ecuador is a multi-ethnic country, the national curriculum is only in Spanish.
CARE has helped to develop a bilingual curriculum in Spanish and Quechua, the most widely spoken language among Amerindian people, who represent 17 per cent of Ecuador’s total population (according to the national census of 2001).
