In the Imbabura province of Ecuador lies the beautiful Manduriacos Valley, a sub-tropical zone surrounded by primary forest and rich in bio-diversity. Life for the valley’s human inhabitants, however, hasn’t been easy. The continuing decline in farming income, poor infrastructure and limited economic resources have all had an impact on the 500 families that make up the area’s twelve communities. The most dangerous threat in recent years has been the emergence of gold mining in the area. With the inevitable river pollution and deforestation that arise from such activities, gold mining has had disastrous effects on the environment and poses a very real threat to the survival of the valley’s inhabitants. (more…)