lo 3: amily **Cas** Study 3: **Villano... .. .. . . . .** I: :Edundo,(30) ad Alicia (29) **have** been mamed 13 yearsad: **they have** five childien; a **si.i ..** i..due inm a:moath.i Ed7 iuardos **a.** high school graiduatnd while heipayfr eheis also emplIedashe. budget officiail for thelocal office of bilinguAl education. Like many of **the** young men.inh theommunity, he was active in community oization, **.:C :rvc ty oTa:a** . :ii:: **on aid** served as treasurer for the provincial indigienous o iE **or ffi** 0 T . T **ienuviganu7mE** E: ti-E .L **oni** Fedemiion de ranizarnones Indigents de Napo (OIN). Thethee older child, aged seven, eight, and :televen, all attend school. **Thea:mily** 'lives in a wooden house with a tcorrgtdz roof, but ltheyl hav **I:neither:** electricity **not** wtr. The consumer goods that **they** own **are** a gas **stove,** portableh adiocanettt: deck, two- **bicycles,** and a small batt-pwer television. tf The familyt i00 0 0 0 0 ti **grows coffe** i whe,;0dly cacao for emarket, as well **as** cassav,- pai ba, **beans,:** corn, and' several **vanreties** of native crops **fir** subsistence... Eduardoqand Alicia participate nearly equally in all of the agrictidurll **tasks,** and **the** older children also help. Nevertheless, Alicia unobtY does: more agricultural work than her hiusbnd, because he has a fill-time job. He **can** not hunt **not** because **of the** density of hurman settlement, and fishing is poor. Despite the **fiact** tht **the6 community** has no :access to basic services Alicia believes that the family is better off than most in the. counity, but they have sufered some **setbacks; for** instance, they used to **own 15** head of cattle, ebut they .11died. Nevertheless, they **sie** better off than .six.years ago, because then, they.were a .youngcouple-with **no.** independent :resources, and they received little help from **their** families. **..... ...** - **.. . The** major expens are **food,** medicine, clothing, **and** tnsportation. Carmen adso believes t Eduardo spe tood muc on alcohol. When they do not have enough to cover **their i** thy expenses, ask r credit i the lI **o** cal strborr **o** re, w money from friends or relatives. This is expected, and they leIto their relatives just as frequently. **In** her view, poverty is related principaly to the relativisolationiof **_dhe_** community; crop:pnces have **risen** somewhat in the recent past, but transportation costs **are** so hightt net incomes are very low. The only viable strategy for overcoming poverty is, to her, **to** obtain more land and to work harder. :: **. ......** The residents of this community have no access to basic services of any kind. The only exception is a small, bilingual primary school. Health care can only be obtained (if transportation can be secured) hours away, and there are no public water or electricity networks.

# S. **Perceptions of Poverty in Seven Case Studies**

This section discusses how households in the seven communities view their living conditions. These **vary** between communities, regions and according to additional **factors** such as gender. A summary of the meanings of poverty for the respondents is presented in Ibble 2. In some cases, different options are listed jointly, reflecting that respondents viewed these as intertwined.

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