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Cutting reeds south of Riobamba, Ecuador
About this photograph
- Creator
- Margery H. Freeman
- Date created
- 1991
- Location
- Riobamba, Ecuador
- License
- This photograph copyright ©2006. Terms of use
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- Search LEARN NC for Ecuador, Quechua, reeds, and vegetation.
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- See our collection of articles on visual literacy for ideas on using photographs meaningfully in the classroom.
A woman in a purple shirt and a fedora hat cuts reeds in a marshy area. A bundle of cut reeds floats in the water at her side.
Reeds serve many purposes in traditional Andean building practices. They can be made into a surprisingly strong boat, they provide the framework for thatched-roofs, and they can be fashioned into a myriad of basket shapes. The knowledge needed to work reeds into their many useful products is passed down within families of Quechua-speaking peoples.
