Alexandra Drebitko | University of Southern Maine (original) (raw)

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Papers by Alexandra Drebitko

Through careful analysis of ethnographic field research conducted during the summer of 2012, comb... more Through careful analysis of ethnographic field research conducted during the summer of 2012, combined with previous literature published on the Napo region of Amazonian Ecuador, I explore the dichotomy observed between a local Kichwa community’s necessity for work and desire to gain employment with an invasive petroleum company, and the desire to maintain and preserve the Amazonian jungle environment for the sake of agriculture, budding ecotourism initiatives, and community member’s health. A long history of entrance and exit of extraction companies, all seeking “liquid gold”, has expedited a transformation from local subsistence agriculture to wage-paying labor and economic struggle as exchange prices for garden produce depreciate and few wage-paying jobs are offered to local community members by the present oil company. In the context of industrialization, globalization, and the deregulation of Ecuador’s mineral resource economy, the Kichwa community of Venecia-Derecha is experiencing rapid and drastic changes in regards to economic subsistence and political organization, among many other aspects of daily life, as control and availability of local resources is consistently reduced. Ecotourism has been introduced in nearby communities as a successful yet seasonal alternative to working for the oil company, which also allows for preservation of local territory. However, as the current oil company seeks crude oil reserves, an influx of coastal and Andean Ecuadorian workers flood the closest city, Tena, and further complicate the nature of human traffic through Kichwa and surrounding communities. The dynamic of all of these forces come together to complicate the notion of “evil oil corporation” versus indigenous community as local Kichwa adapt to a changing economic, political, and social atmosphere.

Through careful analysis of ethnographic field research conducted during the summer of 2012, comb... more Through careful analysis of ethnographic field research conducted during the summer of 2012, combined with previous literature published on the Napo region of Amazonian Ecuador, I explore the dichotomy observed between a local Kichwa community’s necessity for work and desire to gain employment with an invasive petroleum company, and the desire to maintain and preserve the Amazonian jungle environment for the sake of agriculture, budding ecotourism initiatives, and community member’s health. A long history of entrance and exit of extraction companies, all seeking “liquid gold”, has expedited a transformation from local subsistence agriculture to wage-paying labor and economic struggle as exchange prices for garden produce depreciate and few wage-paying jobs are offered to local community members by the present oil company. In the context of industrialization, globalization, and the deregulation of Ecuador’s mineral resource economy, the Kichwa community of Venecia-Derecha is experiencing rapid and drastic changes in regards to economic subsistence and political organization, among many other aspects of daily life, as control and availability of local resources is consistently reduced. Ecotourism has been introduced in nearby communities as a successful yet seasonal alternative to working for the oil company, which also allows for preservation of local territory. However, as the current oil company seeks crude oil reserves, an influx of coastal and Andean Ecuadorian workers flood the closest city, Tena, and further complicate the nature of human traffic through Kichwa and surrounding communities. The dynamic of all of these forces come together to complicate the notion of “evil oil corporation” versus indigenous community as local Kichwa adapt to a changing economic, political, and social atmosphere.