My reporting puts people, communities and their experiences first.
I seek out stories about environment or human rights issues, and where they intertwine, and try to put the people and communities most affected by these issues at the heart of the story.
In 2021, I received a grant from the local TOA-GK (Todos los Ojos en la Amazonia) for In-depth Journalism in the Amazon, and in 2018 was a recipient of the Casa Socio-Environmental Fund for environmental reporting.
Some select publications:
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Community vs. company: A tiny town in Ecuador battles a palm oil giant (Mongabay)
WIMBI, ECUADOR – When Yessenia Padilla heard that her community crops were being destroyed, she and about 70 of her neighbors rushed out to intervene. They grabbed large boards, rocks, the machetes they use to harvest their fields, and took off yelling. She said that when they arrived, they saw workers from the oil palm…
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‘I can’t get out’: Farmers feel the pressure as Ecuador’s palm oil sector grows (Mongabay)
LA CONCORDIA, ECUADOR – Jorge Jurado has been farming oil palm on Ecuador’s coast for almost 20 years, and has seen the industry go through many changes. But over the last few years, he and hundreds of other small-scale farmers have been hit by two major plagues: abnormally low market prices for palm oil over…
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When the “Cure” for Homosexuality Is Torture (In These Times)
QUITO, ECUADOR – When Donato Sanchez, a transgender man, walked into a “gay rehab” clinic for the first time, he didn’t know he was going to stay. His father had convinced him to “check out the facilities,” nothing more. Sanchez had been told that if he chose to enter the clinic, it would “be of…
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FARC fears after rightwing Duque elected (New Internationalist)
ICONONZO, COLOMBIA – A handful of former guerrilla fighters met Sunday at La Tienda (The Store), the only store and social area in the FARC reintegration zone near Icononzo, Tolima, to watch the election results. But the space that is normally full of laughter and banter was grim Sunday afternoon. Many wondered what will be…
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Piedad Cordoba: Colombia’s election could tear Peace Deal to shreds (New Internationalist)
BOGOTA, COLOMBIA – Piedad Cordoba has long been a well-known Colombian human rights activist, lawyer, former congress woman, Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and was once named the most influential Ibero-American intellectual by Foreign Policy magazine. She also briefly ran as a candidate in this year’s presidential elections, but dropped out of the race in March.…
Kimberley Michelle Brown 