INTRO
Alongside members of the Saraguro community, co-produce a series of digital stories to accompany Dr. David Syring’s recently published ethnography, "With the Saraguros: The Blended Life in a Transnational World."

CHALLENGE
For the process to be truly collaborative, community input would need to be taken into account at every step, from selecting topics to focus on to key editing decisions.  It was imperative to create avenues for input and participation.

PROCESS
Dr. Syring had made several visits to Saraguro to conduct ethnographic research and had developed relationships with many of its residents over the years.  We spent three weeks actively filming, taking photos, and conducting traditional ethnography.  We were able to take full advantage of every day in the field because the community knew Dr. Syring and supported his research. We relied on group and one-on-one interviews, cultural immersion, observations, and other traditional ethnographic methods to inform our media-making efforts.   When we completed a draft of a film, we had a screening and invited community members. Their invaluable feedback impacted the final edit.  Sometimes, we edited side-by-side.  

IMPACT
One film we produced, "Grupo Amaru de Saraguro: un Documental Corto de la Música Andina,” has been viewed over 25,000 times and has acted as a catalyst for the band members in their quest to preserve and share their traditional music. In 2016, we presented the films and methods used to produce them to the Society for Visual Anthropology at the American Anthropological Association annual meeting, providing us with an opportunity to discuss how to conduct digital ethnography in collaborative, community-benefiting ways.

Watch "Grupo Amaru de Saraguro: un Documental Corto de la Música Andina" on YouTube: