Adventures in the Amazon
One week in the Amazon jungle, in two communities that have it clear their role as guardians of Mother Earth
Walter Moora
6/21/20264 min read
As some of you might know, I still love a good adventure. I just returned from an eight day trip to the Amazon jungle where we visited two different indigenous communities. I drove there with Riki, who was to be our guide and host. Ecuador is spectacular, although the driving is difficult, with many parts of the road unexpectedly torn up by the movement of the earth. One has to be constantly vigilant. The first day of driving was to Cuenca, although Riki wanted to have lunch at an indigenous project, that was about forty five minutes down a gravel road through the mountains. Again spectacular scenery. The next day took eleven hours through the upper Amazon mountains. Again this was delayed because there was a landslide that took two hours to clear.
The first three days of our visit we stayed with the Amazanga indigenous community, about twenty minutes outside Puyo. This extended family has a long history of fighting the government and oil companies. One time the army came in with a helicopter, destroying some of their homes. The indigenous only have spears and painted faces. Somehow they stopped the oil companies.
Most of our time we spent walking through their cultivated medicinal forest, learning about all the medicinal plants and hearing stories of how they are preserving the jungle and ancient practices. We also received a traditional cleansing. Everything is lush and quite a few times we were caught in drenching downpours.
The Sarayaku community is more isolated. One hour in a taxi and then two hours in a canoe with a small outboard motor. The Sarayaku community is larger, with seven small villages and covers 154,000 hectares. No roads, only rivers and canoes for transportation. Again they have a painful history in defending the Amazon and their lifestyle. They realised that they could not win against the army, and won their battles in the international courts.
During these days we went on an arduous hike up a small mountain, where we could see the magnificent Amazon, spread out all around us ,as far as the eye could see. We were shown some of their projects and sacred places. Some of their leaders came and talked with us, explaining the political situation and traditions. They have been offered government funding for things like hospitals, but have refused. Keeping their sovereignty is important to them.
I was deeply moved by the vastness and eternity of the Amazon. I experienced the love that the indigenous have for this living being. Their commitment and responsibility to her is similar to that of parents towards their child.
We as modern humanity, have mainly lost this oneness with all. We feel strength in our individuality. We forget that our lives are of great interest to both the angelic hosts and the nature spirits.
To read their declaration where they describe their beliefs is truly inspiring. Kawsak Sacha is their name for the living forest.
This is part of a summary of their document to the world courts.
“Kawsak Sacha is a living being, with consciousness, constituted by all the beings of the Forest, from the most infinitesimal to the greatest and supreme beings. It includes the beings of the animal, plant, mineral, spiritual and cosmic worlds, in intercommunication with human beings, and providing them with what is necessary to revitalize their psychological, physical, spiritual facets, thus restoring energy, life and balance of the original indigenous peoples.”
My hope is that we start to feel the same way towards our own Bioregion. We will have to get to know her and understand her in great depths.
Kawsak Sascha (Living Forest) Declaration. It’s a Manifesto presented in 2018 to the World that talks about how a new civilization respecting Nature is possible.
https://ecojurisprudence.org/.../kichwa-peoples-of.../
If you are interested in a similar experience, please contact Riki Cevallos at rikicevallos@gmail.com he is very knowledgeable and leads community based eco-tourism excursions.
