Although the communities are in rural areas and standards of living are considerably lower than those in the city or in western countries, all communities in our network have basic services like running water, electricity, and cell phone coverage. There are also little shops selling everyday goods, and some communities even offer public internet facilities. The communities have between 500 and 2000 inhabitants, they are fairly close to the towns of Cotacachi and Otavalo, and some can be reached by public transport. There are NO banks or ATMs in the communities, only in the nearby towns of Otavalo and Cotacachi. The same is true for medical services like physicians, hospitals and farmacies.