National Outdoor Leadership School - Index

National Outdoor Leadership School - brochure - Index

10
THE
Leader
The pobladores of Chilean Patagonia are the children
and grandchildren of pioneers who came
into this spectacular wilderness in the 1920s and ’30s.
Here they built homes, farms, and a rich culture of
self-sufficiency. These are people who know and appreciate
what they have, a quiet country lifestyle surrounded
by unbelievable scenic beauty.
The way of life in Chilean Patagonia and the stunning
wilderness that surrounds it is being threatened.
ENDESA, a multinational energy company, wants to put
five dams on the Baker and Pascua rivers, flooding nearly
15,000 acres in the heart of the providence of Aysen.
Connected to the dam project is the construction of a
high-tension power line running 1,320 miles from
Cochrane to north of Santiago. If completed it would be
the longest source-to-use electricity line in the world. This
parade of 210-foot towers would also require the world’s
longest clear-cut.
An outcome of the
Pinochet era, Chile’s water
rights are considered separate from land
rights and can be owned independently. Furthermore,
even if a citizen owns the land needed for the
power line, law states that if land is needed for the good
of the country, it can be appropriated for development.
Chile projects an annual increase in energy needs
of 6.8 percent, and much of the energy produced by
this mega dam project is predicted to be used to fuel
the mining industry, which accounts for about 25 percent
of Chile’s energy consumption. While some
Patagonians believe this project will create jobs and
support the local economy, most strongly believe that
this it is not in their best interest. They stand to gain
nothing if most of the money and all of the electricity
goes elsewhere, leaving Patagonians with a damaged
landscape, a loss to their rich, self-sufficient culture,
and a huge scar on their budding tourism industry.
So how do people who live in small towns and on
remote farms gain a voice? They have a cabalgata (a cavalcade),
in which they travel in solidarity against an issue.
In this case, Cabalgata Sin Represas, a cavalcade against
the dams. Horseback riders planned to start in
Cochrane, gather neighbors along the way, and
ride to Coyhaique to protest the hydroelectric
project. I knew I had to participate.
Getting Ready
I first encountered local leader
Don Cecilio Olivares at the
pre-trip meeting in Cochrane.
The respect the entire
community had for
this man was apparent
upon opening the door.
A Community Coming Together for a Cause
Ignacio Grez
BY NANCY PFEIFFER, NOLS INSTRUCTOR
Don Cecilio sat
on one of the few chairs in
the front of the room, surrounded by
other longtime locals. Marco Diaz, a representative
of the local environmental organization Defensores del
Espiritu de la Patagonia (Defenders of the Spirit of Patagonia),
efficiently described the agenda. We would travel
with a police escort when we were on the highway, both
to protect us from the cars and to minimize traffic problems.
An ever-growing number of people were camping
at the rodeo grounds and getting horses ready.
We rode out the next morning at nine with Don
Cecilio at the head of the pack. Everyone was dressed
in their gaucho best: woolen panchos, goatskin chivas,
and jaunty black caps. Locals cheered as we departed.
School kids poured out of
doors and waved wildly
from the steps, reminding
us that it is these children’s
futures at stake.
We were an impressive
group, 30 people on horseback,
there for a common
cause. Elizabeth, a proud
woman in her forties, rode
with her mother. Two young men rode to represent
Tortel, a small town on an island at the mouth of the
Rio Baker. Margarita, a 64-year-old woman from
Cochrane proudly carried a Jovenes Tehuelches flag.
Nacho, a motivated 16-year-old from Santiago,
heard about the march and took
it upon himself to go to Cochrane,
rent a horse, and join us. There
were also four representatives
from NOLS Patagonia:
Sergio Vasquez, Jorge
Cuyul, Alexandra
Yannakos, and
myself.
Aquilino
Olivares, Don Cecilio’s
son, was also there, and this
man’s quiet, solid leadership turned out to
be key to our group’s success.
Before leaving Cochrane, we gathered for a few
minutes outside the “Hydro Aysen” office. Hydro Aysen
is the name chosen for the project by ENDESA and
Cobun. Cobun, owned by two of Chile’s richest families,
is the Santiago-based company participating in the project.
They are also major players in the Chilean wood
pulp industry. The name Hydro Aysen, their attempt at
appearing to be a local company, doesn’t fool many people.
Seeing their office here made the threat real.
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Bret Frk
The Journey Underway
We traveled through wide-open country filled with
scrubby ñirre trees. The turquoise waters of the Rio
Baker flow tranquilly through this area, giving no hint
of the tremendous rapids upstream. Partially settled
silt from many glaciers makes the water look tropical.
My spirit soared with the power of waving an
yelling, “ENDESA entiende la vida no se vend
(Understand! Life is not for sale), but when
observed a moment of silence outside the
Hydro Aysen office, I found myself quietly
crying into my sunglasses.