Hello everyone, today we are writing to you one last time about our volunteer service, which ends at the end of August.In our last report we will be discussing a very special thing, the so-called “Buen Vivir” or in English: the “good life”. Perhaps some of you have heard of it before, because in 2008 Ecuador was the only country besides Bolivia to include the “Buen Vivir”, or rather the “Sumak Kawsay”, as it is called in Ecuador, in its constitution.

6:30 a.m., the alarm clock rings. The day begins groggy. After a hearty breakfast of plantains, rice and fish, we head to the neighboring village of Quingüe at 8 a.m. Today, a "minga", a community work session, is taking place on the finca of a member of the association. We'll tell you what we've learned about planting a new cocoa plot according to the principles of permaculture and what else we're doing in our second report.

Während wir in unseren Hängematten liegen und unseren selbst gepressten Maracujasaft schlürfen, lauschen wir der Vielzahl an tropischen Vögeln und lassen unsere ersten zwei Monate in Caimito Revue passieren. Doch heute ist Sonntag und unser Alltag ist eigentlich ganz anders...

Wir sind Leon und Valentin und wir absolvieren gerade unseren Freiwilligendienst im Nordwesten Ecuadors. Genauer gesagt in Caimito, einem Dorf der Provinz Esmeraldas.