Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
I spoke with Peruvian Canadian founder Mara Brcic Bello located in Sacred Valley. We discuss creativity in isolation, Peru elections, lockdown on a mountain, conservation, and soap.
Taylor Simone: Can you tell me where you were when worldwide lockdowns hit in March 2020?
Mara Brcic Bello: I’m president and co-founder of an NGO called Uma Rumi in Peru. We specialize in tourism, conservation, and outdoor recreation.
We were working on a project in Inkawaqanqa. At the time my partner and I, and another Uma Rumi team member were up in Ancash camping in the middle of nowhere.
When lockdown started we had no idea. [In Peru] when lockdown hit you weren’t allowed to go home which meant you could be stranded. Even if you had IDs or proof of address you still couldn’t go back home.
[Nico and I] spent months on a mountain. Camping above 4,000 meters above sea level. The weather was unpredictable; it was snowing and we had little resources. I mean — we had a great time being in the middle of nowhere [laughter]. In the end we were helped by a mining company. They found us. This mining company ended up sending a patrol and helped us find our way out. We definitely knew we couldn’t stay there forever. Unfortunately, they couldn’t take us to Lima or Cusco so to get home was a process. [Pauses] Can you hear my chickens? They’re yelling [both laugh] We didn’t get back to Cusco until June 9th 2020.
As a small NGO it was difficult as our work trips are paid out of our own pockets as the pandemic intensified costs for many small businesses — yet we press on. Why we do this work is we love conservation.
Eventually I started making soaps again. I’ve been making soaps for over ten years whenever I’m somewhere stable.
TS: How did you learn the technique to make soaps? Family?
MBB: Funny thing is I didn’t even learn to make soaps in Peru — I took a class in East Vancouver. I was a teenager. The class taught us how to use ancestral Mesopotamia techniques to make the soap. I went on my own. It was beautiful. I was hooked. I became obsessed with soaping.
[Compared to Vancouver] In Peru I had space for soaping with the tools, equipment, and raw materials as I traveled lots over the years.
I can’t even remember the teacher’s name of the class I took. I wonder if she knows how much she changed my life. After I got deeper into sustainability. [Mara holds a UBC degree in natural conservation]
TS: Isn’t it strange how one can have no idea how someone has a positive impact in their life. Little actions add up.
Years later an entire city in Peru has access to hundreds of biodegradable soap in a pandemic.
MBB: [laughs]
That’s where I feel a bit crazy. I can’t remember her name. Now we sustain our whole family and an environmental NGO from this random soaping lesson in East Vancouver I took as a teenager.
TS: Before founding your NGO Uma Rumi in Peru where did you work prior?
MBB: Peruvian Society of Environmental Law [Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental] for 2 years. I worked on an initiative called Conservamos por Naturaleza.
The environmental work allowed me to open emotional doors I needed.
TS: Such as?
MBB: Confidence to do conservation on my own and to understand the limitations Peru has. The trust philosophy of the NGO helped me find my own courage. My boss was trustworthy with giving me independence to do my work which gave me confidence. After I quit my job with no money or soaping company — I thought something will happen. I was confident.
TS: I think confidence in past moments of time can be channeled to the present. Even when there’s adversity — confidence is still stored in one’s energy, mind, and body.
MBB: For sure even when confidence is shaken.
I think we’re in such a strange transition in Peru.
There was an article that said, “Peru has been one of the most hit countries due to the pandemic.” That New York Times piece Tiempos recios en Perú I sent you was a media piece I felt that conveyed many difficulties with the electoral process including the candidates.
The last thing Peru needed is this political crisis.
People are trying to stay afloat and things will get harder for NGO’s and small businesses.
The only thing we can do in my view is hope for the worst. Why? Because at least if everything goes back to normal that’s amazing… will feel ok. However, if it’s not the case at least we saved to sustain ourselves for months.
TS: Can you explain how circumstances have escalated in Peru? For months we’ve been discussing turnovers with leaders either for corruption, laundering, or other crimes.
MBB: Truthfully the subject matter feels over my head when I think about it. I can’t say too much. In my circle I have different views so it’s a subject I have trouble talking about.
For over thirty years Peru has been under extreme corruption. To the extreme where many former ex-presidents are in jail or are being sentenced. Congress can put no trust on presidents. I’ve been thinking over, over, and over again what’s going to happen? There’s still no results for the election as Keiko won't concede.
I don’t think Castillo’s political and economical views are correct but it’s not like Peru is going to disappear [referring to communism].
There’s a high amount of miscommunication in the media which doesn’t allow anyone to be at peace right now including fake videos of people yelling and marching down from the Andes. It doesn't help that the media is biased with media campaigns.
People have dissimilar views and values on politics yet the argument right now is it’s either you vote for democracy by voting to keep your economic lifestyle or you vote for communism.
People forget what democracy is. What I find interesting is when people say a vote for Keiko is a vote for democracy yet that makes no sense. We know what her father was up to.
[Context note: Keiko’s father, Alberto Fujimori is a contentious figure in Peru. Some credit him with ending guerilla Shining Path resurgences while others condemn him for a forced sterilization campaign. He is currently serving a sentence. Keiko is alleging fraud in the voting results. Voting results are not yet confirmed]
What I hope is people with little resources will have more access as many people are extremely ill and have access to nothing. Much of the expensive medicine is only accessible for some in different parts of Lima. If you wanted to take a covid test for example it would cost 400 soles. I believe now it’s 250 soles.
Luckily vaccines are organized right now people over 60+ are receiving vaccines.
TS: British Columbia was a dual reality. We were lucky here.
MBB: People are everywhere in Lima and the surveillance of even shopping for household items was intense and unnecessary. We knew we had to leave. They tried out different ideas of enforcement for lockdowns such as military — there was a time when women could only go out certain days with curfews so obviously no trans rights lockdowns just wasn’t well-thought out for humans.
While some people were kept off the street the death toll in Peru is still over 180,000 covid related deaths. My issue with lockdowns is the mental health… people namely women locked down with abusers. We don’t have the data on femicide in Peru during the pandemic even in the world on women being abused as many don’t have the financial means to leave. Overcrowded households not even access to water it’s hell to think of.
I feel incredibly privileged and fortunate that we moved to Sacred Valley.
Emotionally being away from Lima was the right call.
TS: Mara, you’re cutting out.
MBB: If there are too many clouds in the sky my phone won’t work.
TS: That was very poetic.
*Mara rises up from her chair* the chickens are fighting.
Why do some mountains not crumble in pain?
TS: We’ve talked in the past about how currency in Peru is high right now which is creating more instability.
Globally more women are being forced out of work not just exclusive to North America and Europe.
Financial freedom empowers a woman to leave, travel, change a career, and so on. With lockdowns what we don’t know is the impact for all humans in 1 year — 3 years — and even 5 years.
MBB: Education too. Schools haven’t opened yet. So there’s online schooling. I think about young women I fear they won’t finish. For households with little technology access I think about the frustration.
TS: What are the challenges with online schooling?
MBB: In Peru they gave tablets to kids yet many areas don’t have electricity. I knew a 9 year-old boy who was given a tablet. He had no where to charge it. So how do people charge their devices or what do they do when a teacher calls to check in on an assignment?
Schools aren’t projected to open anytime soon. What worries me is the social economical divisions that are building in Peru..it’s complicated to feel peace here.
Software and technology access is a huge issue here. Laboratoria is one non-profit I can think of seeking to increase access and education.
TS: Being friends for over 15 years much of your life was back and forth between Peru and Vancouver. When you were at UBC you also travelled to many countries.
What I didn’t know is you would settle in Peru.
MBB: [Her eyes shift north to think] mean either.
TS: Something must have called you to go back to Peru.
What was it?
MBB: I was living in Asia for a few years all over India, Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam, Thailand, and other places. Didn’t want to go to US. Decided to go travel Peru alone for six months. Reconnected with family. Went back to Lima. A friend invited me to a climbing gym for the first time. I saw Nico there [Nico is Mara’s partner and co-founder]
I knew I couldn’t leave Lima yet everything was up in the air.
The idea was to work for Peruvian Society of Environmental Law for 1 month — I loved the work it turned into 2 years.
I don’t believe in settling anywhere.
Nico changed me as a human — one of the most patient souls on earth. Life is simpler with him. In the middle of a pandemic out in Sacred Valley near the mountains we adjust and learn to laugh. Yes some days are hard. We climb mountains often. We could fear money but why waste time.
We go into Cusco to sell soaps and things feel lighter.
TS: Letting go of control.
MBB: Life is easier when I have less expectations.
I don’t deserve anything. I’m lucky if someone wants to buy my soap that I made at home with my dog. I’m lucky on many levels. What I mean is we all deserve basic human rights and respect but being in a state of privilege I don’t deserve the world.
It’s like telling someone ‘if we all have less people can have more.’
That scares people — which goes back to the political crisis here in Peru right now.
Some people would rather maintain fraud and the status quo as people remain under the poverty line. I generally see from experience it’s people with less tend to give more. I hear all trails of thought from relatives, friends, and strangers with some opinions I don't want to hear but that's just how it is.
What do people do with all that money?
What do humans do?
TS: [Are you asking me? *Mara nods*]
You out of anyone would know this.
My thinking is ingrained to prepare for the worst.
I had to unlearn the materialism of money and search for why I want to invest in my passions.
Significantly to not jump to prejudice towards people who have money and people who do not have money when I don’t know the why’s?
There’s no price on a person finding a sense of integrity, peace, or purpose.
But that mindset isn’t always enough…. for some. I’m aware how financial freedom solves many societal problems.
MBB: Exactly that’s where I get lost is how humanity became complex with being money oriented — it’s a solution, it’s a tool.
Money can be a solution yet it doesn’t always promote thinking.
[A government may lend…] This terrible thing happened to you I’ll give you money so we don’t have to think or hear about it.
The other irony is if you choose to live a life with very little money somehow your aspirations are wrong.
TS: I think no matter the amount in a person’s bank account a little mental distance from the everyday processes of money is healthy.
Not necessarily religious or ideological — just some way of intentional centering around one’s thoughts.
MBB: In Urubamba sometimes I feel like I take for granted the intense culture and nature that surrounds us.
There’s that everyday pause to look around and be grateful.
I also think back to the moment we met in high school when I left Peru.
Can you imagine if I had not run into you in high school that day?
Such a simple moment in people’s lives is to be non-judgmental. You really don’t know who people are in there surroundings.
I feel like the political crisis in Peru divides us with the past and it’s like sitting in the middle wondering what to do.
But we’re here.
We’re here hoping to sell soaps.
and that’s it, jajajaja.
What I’ve enjoyed about soaping is we’re making a connection to water and nourishment for the skin.
TS: How many soaps are in your home right now?
[Mara shows her inventory] Around 1,000. We don’t sell a thousand a month but we aim to make a thousand.
These soaps are better with time with the technique we use. I love the passed down knowledge of Mesopotamia.
TS: I wish you could dispatch me the dragon blood one.
MBB: Croton Lechleri.
Right now, we have 22 types of soaps. We try to source raw materials and flowers from small businesses or privately protected areas. For example we have a soap with jojoba oil and how we got the Eucalyptus is from that tree over there *points*
We have a lavender oatmeal where we buy the lavender from a neighbor that comes from an organic farm including all the flowers we use to decorate the soaps like Calendula. About a kilometer from my house is a group of women with organic farms so we buy their supplies too. Any coconut oil comes from a privately protected area in San Martin North of Peru.
In an unexpected way it’s becoming more serious even though we’re not exactly marketers. [Donde Mara y Nico] had to be something with meaning besides showering. Our soaps are homemade with benefits of natural ingredients with connections to people, the Amazon, and cultural teachings — to understand what you’re buying is having an impact not just for us but as a community.
It brings up all types of interesting conversations on natural cosmetics not just in Peru also North America where it can be expensive. Our brand is the cheapest in the market on purpose. I’m not willing to make this for profit.
TS: Some people do what they do for community impact. I do notice when founders put a product out not at the highest price one line of reasoning is concerns over wellbeing and affordability for customers.
This isn’t to say growth, competition, and revenue doesn’t matter — Goals vary depending on the founder it could be affordability, usability, and accessibility that brings satisfaction for some.
Yes. I have to eat but being rich isn’t a priority right now. I benefit if people shower with materials that are biodegradable. I prefer to make it affordable so anyone can buy. Some customers are even suspect as they wonder why the organic soaps are affordable. We sell 1 bar for 14 soles. The market price for the same ingredients is 40 soles. So that’s where I don’t understand why only some can afford a brand and this cycle is repeated all over the world and nothing changes.
Donde Mara y Nico has brought me emotional stability and an interesting path. I love soaping it encourages a new form of thinking while it gives me joy knowing that anyone can do conservation as long as you’re willing to understand what you’re eating, how you’re eating, and where you’re buying from.
In Canada it’s different where you cannot access everything locally.
Here in Peru it’s easier to source.
TS: If you did come back to Vancouver there’s an ecommerce window waiting to open with your knowledge base including different brackets of people interested in wellness, sustainability, and conservation.
It’s interesting with the skills you possess how you’re able to concentrate your creativity after you returned from a few intense months on a mountain.
MBB: My eventual idea is to scale into the Canadian markets or other places. I'll keep an open mind. Our soaps are all over stores in Sacred Valley. I’m still not in the [metrics] stage mindset….or this is “my stock”
But sometimes I like that. Just to trust. Just to trust, here’s the money that was made. Ok, great. Talk to shop owners and people. I make the amount of soaps and go from there. I don’t care about the labels of what we do. Sometimes we ask, “Should we find someone to tell us what to do to get more organized?” Maybe in the future? Will see.
Right now, as long as it's messy I’m thankful we’re growing.
TS: Messy, no blueprint, and careful not to step on glass. How lucky I am to learn in public, say something silly, or have someone read my words and have a thoughtful conversation with.
MBB: That’s why I like to call it my soap project.
By messy I mean my mind is messy. It's too early too think about sales. If they don’t sell who cares?
I can shower for the rest of my life.
[both laugh]
TS: You were lost in the mountains at the first wave of the pandemic. Not many people have that story.
You witnessed different regions of Peru experience various sets of consequences with covid while able to put that political pain into something creative once you reached Sacred Valley.
What keeps me happy at night is knowing you wake up in the morning feeling fulfilled even when it’s tough.
At the end of the day what most people want is to feel their passion is making an impact no matter how small or large.
MBB: I’ve always considered travel a lifelong passion but I’ve never been as fulfilled as I feel being right here in the now where I can travel the least.
Things will never be perfect. I like being who I am right now.
We have forgotten the importance of time. Life and existence can be overrated. Peace of mind is being with whatever is happening even if it’s all falling apart.
Peru may fall apart. I'll be ok. I’ll watch my chickens fight. My dog is dead asleep. The sun, the clouds, chatting with you. What else could I ask for?
Someday I’ll travel again. What’s the rush?
TS: I’m happy with being solitary.
The right people will care about your time.
MBB: I mean who knows what will happen or when will see each other again.
Maybe I’ll become a rich soaper and you’ll sell books all over the world, will become a travelling duo.
Who knows? Will grow. I think will be growing no matter what. I can feel it.
Sometimes I don’t know what to do with growth.
I love to travel but the shock of feeling stranded unable to return home that was a different feeling — the world is moving and changing unbelievably fast now.
I'm learning what mountains can teach us about isolation.
TS: There’s power in isolation including what is beyond our control. You raise a point it depends on the existence and reasoning behind the source of isolation.
MBB: Society and humanity is tangled as we all experience different realities at the same time. We’re too complex. I try to hope many will think differently of our political situation as we await election results.
I paused recently over this thought.
I realized I could be asking too much of something that I can’t even grasp… or anyone who holds a different view or response compared to my own mind.
Am I asking too much of a complex situation?
Taylor Simone is a freelance journalist and techie crewing for Vancouver’s motion picture industry.
She’s dispatched for Supernatural, Riverdale, Batwoman, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Nancy Drew, DC Legends, Superman & Lois, Firefly Lane, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, Away, Mighty Ducks, Turner & Hooch, Jurassic World: Dominion, Sonic Hedgehog 2, The Adam Project, & many more…
Her book If At First You Don’t Succeed is slated for early 2022.
All interview styles are lightly edited for clarity and depth.
Sig. taylorsimone@protonmail.com