David's Been Here is outside Ecuador's small city of Tena, where David and crew head down river to meet up with an Amazonic Community. Join David as he learns about this community's language and trades, watching them make pottery (painting, molding and firing), and also concoct a local drink, all out of traditional, local materials. A must do activity for anyone touring through this beautiful country, head into the Amazon to get a real cultural experience in Ecuador. For more information on how you can do these tours, check out the David's Been Here Guide to Tena, now available for your Kindle as well.
About Me: My name is David Hoffmann and for the last decade I have been traveling around the world in search of unique culture, food and history! Since starting Davidsbeenhere in 2008, I have traveled to 71 countries and over 1,000 destinations, which I welcome you to check out on my YouTube Channel, blog and social medias.
I focus a great deal on food and historic sites, as you probably have seen! I love to experience the different flavors that each destination has to offer, whether it’s casual Street food or gourmet restaurant dining. I’m also passionate about learning the local history and culture.
So we're about to go meet a community in the Amazon.
They're going to show us how they make ceramics and some type of juice.
Now follow me.
So we're here with Esaias and this is his family.
So Virginia is showing how they make some of the ceramics.
A little bit of pottery.
So they speak very little Spanish.
She speaks a little bit, she speaks none at all.
They speak Kichwa, this is the native language here.
It's very, very impossible to understand.
I don't understand anything. I speak Spanish.
Imas Narangin means hello.
Very, very difficult.
So right now she's finishing the little pot.
She leaves it for three days and then she'll be able to paint it.
Like this.
And they don't have knives here.
What they use is little pieces of bamboo.
Like this.
This is what they use to cut.
It's awesome.
It's sturdy.
We have three types of paint here.
We have white paint.
We have red paint.
We have black paint.
These are the stones.
This is from the Curarey River.
Curarey.
From other tribes.
Right now she's painting with the red paint.
She's painting right now with the red paint.
Right now she's painting with a stone from the Napa River.
She's polishing it with a stone.
Can you see?
Wow.
With this stone.
We have a brush here.
It's a natural brush that they've made.
A brush?
A brush.
To make the designs.
This is made to make the designs.
After they're done painting, they'll put the pottery inside the fire.
They'll burn it for...
How long do they leave it there?
30 minutes.
And they'll pull it out and they'll clean it up.
Which she's doing right now.
It's strong.
It's also medical.
I was wondering how they made it.
I'm ready to buy it now.
We're about to see them make a drink for us called La Chicha.
That's Yuca right there.
They're going to make a drink out of that.
Delicious.
This is what ferments La Chicha.
This is the root of the tree called El Caminante
which you saw on the nature walk.
This is the final product.
The Chicha.
Chicha de Yuca.
Extremely good.
This is the community.
Where have you been?
Wow. That's incredible.
