Last year our Ecuador Living website introduced the Cotacachi Olympics.

The way to solve many of the world’s social and economic woes is to help youth worldwide gain confidence to learn skills that will make them productive.   Increased affluence in poor places is far more effective than vast armies in providing global security.

We aim our business and the activities of our foundation towards creating employment and improving education.

This is why we support the Cotacachi Olympics  program started by our friend, Jorge Quilumbaqui, to promote the ability of the Ecuador Indigenous to help themselves.

Jorge Quilumbaqui at his latest real estate project. Primavera IV is in the background.

Jorge started off as a laborer but now is considered to be one of the indigenous elders in Cotacachi, an example to younger generations of how to prosper in what, years ago, was a difficult environment.

Here’s Jorge, second from left, with Cotacachi’s former mayor Auki, standing with some of the medal winners from last year’s event. (The past mayor next to Jorge is wearing the white hat.)

Jorge hasn’t forgotten his roots though and employs dozens and dozens of builders in his various projects as well as local girls in his hotel in Cotacachi, Sumak Huasi.

Our friend and reader Dave Wharton was Australia’s Pentathalon entrant in the Sydney Olympics.  He sent down his Olympic torch for the second Cotacachi Olympics.  Here is Dave with the torch.

Dave sent this note to the Cotacachi Olympians:

GREETINGS FROM AUSTRALIA.
REMEMBER THE LEGENDARY CHASQUI MESSENGERS!!

In 2000 I ran with this TORCH,which carried the flame that started the Olympics in Sydney. There were many torches but only one flame that transferred from torch to torch all the way from Athens in Greece to Sydney in Australia.

In 2003  I brought the TORCH to Ecuador and runners carried it from the Mayan Ruins at Ruminchico outside Quito to Vilcabamba de Loja. Along the way many runners joined us in helping to revive the memory and spirit of the famous CHASQUI runners who came centuries before.  The run was organized by Oswaldo Munoz of  Nuevo Mundo Expeditions in Quito.

I wish Jorge Quilumbaci,Officials and Competitors success in running your MINI OLYMPICS and hope to visit you one day.

CHASQUI DAVE WHARTON
AUSTRALIA

This introduction was translated and read in Spanish and Quichua to the young Cotacachi Olympiads.

Chasqui runners were the main form of communication for the Inca Kings. The Incas did not discover the wheel and lacked a writing system but they set up a relay system for delivering information along the Capac Yan (Inca Trail). Only the swiftest athletes were chosen, usually running 2 miles at a time often covering 200 miles in under 24 hours.

We hope this contribution will further inspire the youth of the Andes onto great things.

Some of the children, in good humor and ready to compete!

Both boys and girls competed and the joy expressed as they competed, won and lost in good spirits was a pure pleasure to watch.

Congratulations, Cotacachi on a second successful Olympics.

Gary

We hope we can help you attain Olympian success in business and life as well.  This is why we developed our course Tangled Web… How to Have an Internet Business.

I am willing to give you this $299 course free when you attend either our our North Carolina International Business & Investing seminar in October or November in Ecuador.  Sign up for either seminar and I will email you our Tangled Web… How to Have an Internet Business Course (offered at $299) free.

We look at many funky export ideas in these three courses.

For example when decoratng our latest rental unit we created wall art with these Otavalo scarves.

All it took was the scarves, a stick and a bit of wood.

We visit Otavalo on our Ecuador export tours.

There is so much…

style. This is the entrance to the Plazas de los Ponchos in Otavalo.

There is so much wonderful design….

colors…

textures and…

uses from ponchos to…

hammocks to…

sweaters to…

art and handicrafts to…

reed furniture… musical instruments and rugs… mats, that the experience stimulates funky business ideas.

Join Merri, Thomas Fischer of JGAM, our webmaster David Cross and me in North Carolina this October and enroll in our emailed course on how to have a web business free.  Save $299.

Learn more about global investing, how to have an international business and diversification in Ecuador at the seminar.

Oct. 9-11 IBEZ North Carolina

Or join us in Ecuador.

October 16-18 Ecuador Southern coastal tour Sold Out

Oct. 21-24 Ecuador Import Export Tour

Oct. 25-26 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

Nov. 6-8 IBEZ Ecuador Seminar

Nov. 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

Nov. 11-14 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

December 6-8 Beyond Logic Shamanic Tour

December 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

December 11-13 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Attend any two Ecuador seminar or tours in a calendar month…$949 for one.  $1,349 for two.

Attend any three Ecuador courses or tours in a calendar month…$1,199 for one.  $1,799 for two.

The Cotacachi Olympics is helping the kids of Cotacachi.

Steve just conducted the latest Cotacachi real estate tour one project viewed was Primavera II.

Primavera One and Two are owned almost entirely by Ecuador Living subscribers and real estate tour delegates. These condos are built by Jorge Quilumbaqui, a local indigenous builder made good after years of struggle.

Jorge began as a laborer but is now one of the indigenous elders in Cotacachi, an example to younger generations of how to prosper in what, years ago, was a difficult environment.

Here’s Jorge, second from left standing with some of the medal winners

Jorge hasn’t forgotten his roots though and employs dozens and dozens of builders in his various projects as well as local girls in his Cotacachi Hotel, Sumak Huasi.

Earlier this year Jorge came to Meson de Las Flores to tell me about his plan to stage an athletics competition for indigenous children. He would call it the Indigenous Cotacachi Olympics and it would primarily be a way to financially help all the different indigenous communities around Cotacachi.

Using his own money and also sponsorship the prizes for the winning children athletes would be a computer or school utensils for the entire school year.

Some of the children, in good humor and ready to compete!

Knowing us at Meson de Las Flores very well and also aware that we have the Land of the Sun foundation to primarily help the indigenous in Ecuador, Jorge had no hesitation to ask us to be one of the sponsors of his event. We had no hesitation agreeing to do so!

I find Jorge to be a humble man without any airs or graces, unassuming with conservative style and tastes and with a social conscience – he wants to give back to his own indigenous community.

It was no easy task to arrange the Olympics because sometimes there’s a rivalry between the different indigenous communities and also the children are, for the most part, not used to taking part in athletics events such as relay and long jump. They can all run but don’t know how to start a sprint or pace themselves in the longer distance events.

Here’s some supporters from the Morales Chupa community

Jorge hired a physical education trainer to visit all the 14 communities that were to participate; the trainer spent one day in one community and then moved on to the next community. All in all he spent 2 months training the 180 children who were due to compete.

See what happened at Ecuador-indigenous-self-help.

Gary

Gary

Join us at a course in Cotacachi or on Ecuador’s coast this winter.

Jan. 16-21 Ecuador Spanish Course
Jan. 22-23 Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Jan. 24-27 Coastal Real Estate Tour

We’ll visit the Otavalo markets.

Feb. 13-15 International Business & Investing Made EZ
Feb. 16-17 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

Courses are centered around this open air courtyard in our colonial inn El Meson de las Flores.

March 8-9 Imbabura Real Estate Tour
March 10-15 Ecuador Export Expedition
March 16-19 Coastal Real Estate Tour

You are also invited to tag along to the beach where we visit all types of Ecuador beach property for sale. Here is one f our previous tours enjoying a visit to Vistazul condos.

Better still join us all year in Ecuador! See our entire schedule of 26 courses, tours, mingos and expeditions we’ll conduct in 2009.