The Context

• El Valle was home to the municipal landfill or dump for Cuenca, Ecuador – the country’s third-largest city.

 • The environment was

unsafe and hostile. • Self-confidence and self-

esteem were virtually nonexistent.

Cuenca Municipal Dump, El Valle

We went out of curiosity, but when we saw that the trucks carried potatoes, cabbages – though they were a little bruised, we could use them – we began to gather them, and took them to cook for our children… our lands produced nothing, we had nothing to live by.

Things Begin To Change • CARE got involved in 1997 along with

the municipality of Cuenca and Ecuador’s department of children and families.

• Two associations are formed: the Association of Recyclers of El Valle (AREV) and the Association of Recyclers of Urban Cuenca (ARUC).

• CARE helped the women develop the capacity to sell to paper and plastic factories. Income increased.

• Additional CARE workshops covered topics of self-esteem, reproductive health, domestic violence, etc.

What Are We Studying?

• What are the key changes in the women’s lives, and how are they perceived, felt and lived?

• What did CARE do to promote or initiate these changes? What did CARE fail to do?

• What did other institutions do to promote the changes?

Ecuador’s cut on the Global SII Questions

Ecuador SII Principles and Methods

• Be empowering• Reflect local

knowledge• Provide safety

and healing• Build

accountability & interdependence

• Probe beliefs and blind spots

• Defining own sense of

empowerment • Personal histories/

group journeys• Triangulating

interviews• Participatory

analysis process• Literature review

Dialogue of Knowledges

Principles of Ecuador’s SII:

Methods & Activities:

What Are We LearningBeing a recycler isn’t just getting sustenance with difficulty and hard work. Being a recycleris also rescuing the nationat the corner,by the lightpost,in the dumpswhere people hide the shameof the garbage of their

exaggerated consumerism.

There we arerescuing animals, air, water –rescuing life.

About Empowerment?

 - Rodrigo Ramirez, Recycler

What Are We Learning

• Recycling is no longer a last resort or a means for survival. It is a dignified job that benefits the entire city and the environment.

• Women are able to speak with confidence to representatives of large companies and the municipality.

• Women are able to communicate better with their husbands and children, negotiate problems and make decisions.

About Empowerment?

What Are We Learning

• Women have grown significantly at a personal level; progress is slower at the group level, and in wider structures. Yet, a broader base is important because it helps to solidify empowerment.

• Empowerment can be fluid – it has ups and downs, often influenced by outside factors.

• Empowerment has costs and tradeoffs for women.

About Empowerment?

What Does it Take

• Authenticity• Passion for justice• Openness to learn• Capacity to

connect• Political skill• Personal courage• Stamina

• Clear vision/goals• Gender-sensitive

and empowered frontline staff

• Commitment over time

• Political will• Flexible rules and

procedures

To work with the most marginalized women?

On a Personal Level:

On an Organizational Level:

What Does it Take

• A real desire to know

• Openness to criticism

• Time… to define yourquestions, build a team, work in ways and at a pace that suits all, and be thoughtful about analyzing all the data you collect!

• Resources, including staff and funding

• Methods tailored to your questions and your principles

To do rights-based impact research?

…this has helped me to re-establish the priorities and

grand passions that drive my work. It has been so valuable

to have this space, to reconsider and challenge my

daily doings … and put my feet firmly back in the field.