Ecuador: Family working to defend ancient history on its land

The Civilization in the Backyard
A family in rural Ecuador fights to defend a piece of ancient history on its land.
By Naomi Renee Cohen / slate.com

When Telmo Pereira purchased 200 acres of a plateau to cultivate in the northern Ecuadorian cloud forest region of Intag for $1.50 in 1949, he had no idea that the lot he had picked sat atop a pre-Incan city. Having recently left the army, the then 24-year-old farmer walked 160 miles from the southern border of his native Colombia to the land he now stands on with other things on his mind, primarily the woman he had followed there.

Sixty-eight years on, Telmo remains a legend in his own family. He went on to have six children with the woman who led him to Intag, with many grandchildren following. As the family grew, so too did the property, and entering his 90s with failing eyesight, the patriarch decided to divide a large portion of the land in six parcels to pass on to the next generation, keeping a separate section for himself. But his gifts of land came with a clear stipulation to his offspring: Never must the plateau slip out of the hands of the family. Read Full Article

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