They have six children and live in the jungle: “The youngest learn at home, prepare the soil and care for the animals”

At sunrise in Ecuador’s Amazon, the Porter children begin their daily assignments: harvesting fruit, studying at home, preparing the soil and caring for animals. Natalie and Michael Porter left their life in the United States to settle in Napo province, where they built a household organized around self-sufficiency, physical work and close contact with nature.

The family’s routine, documented by Ecuadorian content creators Josué and Elie on their YouTube channel, depends on assigning each member a specific role. The older brothers, Tommy and Jerry, handle the most demanding work, including caring for the family’s cattle. Jerry explained how they alternate shifts: “I milk the cow in the morning, take her out to graze and milk her in the afternoon. The next day Tommy does everything and I don’t have to care for the cow.”

The young men also make items for work, recreation and survival activities, including bows, arrows with metal tips and slingshots. The family’s diet combines food produced locally with familiar Western products. Their videos show them eating waffles with homemade jam, despite living deep in the jungle.

“

I milk the cow in the morning, take her out to graze and milk her in the afternoon. The next day Tommy does everything and I don’t have to care for the cow.

Formal education takes place on the property, where the children’s grandmother, who shares Natalie’s name, helps teach them. She spent 26 years in the US school system as a science and mathematics teacher. She described her current role as a mixture of household support and time with the family: “Sometimes I cook with Natalie, sometimes I crochet or do those things because sometimes I get bored. I’m retired, so there isn’t much work to do, and on top of that I have my family, who always wants to help.”

The home follows the rhythms of nature rather than the schedules of urban life. The Porter family presents its arrangement as an alternative built on cooperation, practical learning and independence from outside services.

“

Sometimes I cook with Natalie, sometimes I crochet or do those things because sometimes I get bored. I’m retired, so there isn’t much work to do, and on top of that I have my family, who always wants to help.