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SINANGOE, ECUADOR — The day begins with everyone drinking a big cup of Yoko. A man called Viejo ("old man," in Spanish) carves the bark off a special vine found only in the Amazon highlands and mixes it with water. The resulting brew has a gritty texture and a bitter, earthy taste and gives the …
PUYO, ECUADOR - More than 200 indigenous Waorani people and their supporters marched to the court in the Amazon city of Puyo on Thursday to begin their high-stakes hearing against the Ecuadorian government. After long protesting oil extraction in its territory, the community are suing three government bodies - the Ministry of Energy and Non-renewable …
Continue reading "Indigenous Waorani sue Ecuadorian government over land rights (Al Jazeera)"
ANTWERP, BELGIUM - I had the privilege of participating in this photo exhibition in Belgium - "Feminism and Photojournalism in Latin America" - with other talented women photographers from all over Central and South America. The exhibition ran from March-June, 2019 in a space called Mundana in Antwerp, Belgium. It was curated by Javier Perugachi. …
Continue reading "“Feminism and Photojournalism in Latin America” (Exhibition: Antwerp, Belgium)"
PUYO, ECUADOR—Rosa Elvira Chuji Gualingai, 50, came to the city to pressure the government. Watching the traffic outside her office window, she says, “I can't get used to this lifestyle.” The indigenous activist, leader of the Shiwiar community of Kurintsa, was raised deep in the Amazon rainforest, surrounded by towering ceibo and palm trees. With …
QUITO, ECUADOR - Gabriela doesn't remember when she was raped, because she was passed out when it happened. The 27-year-old Ecuadorian psychology student had been taking anti-depressants and sleeping pills on a regular basis. One night, when staying at a friend's house, she took the usual combination that "makes me not feel a thing," she …
PUYO, Ecuador — An indigenous community in Ecuador has filed a lawsuit against the government for failing to consult with it before putting its territory up for sale to the oil industry. The Waorani community announced the lawsuit Feb. 27 with a historic march through the city of Puyo, capital of the Amazon province of …
Continue reading "Indigenous group sues Ecuador for earmarking its land for oil drilling (Mongabay)"
QUITO, ECUADOR - Ricardo Perez says he feels scared walking down the streets of Quito these days. He can’t wait to get back to his home in Venezuela. The 24-year-old migrant says he has long received dirty looks, been called names for being Venezuelan, and told to go home. Tensions hit a peak last week …
Continue reading "Venezuelans flee violence in Ecuador (New Internationalist)"
QUITO, ECUADOR - The most important thing we can do to address climate change isn’t to create new regulations, but ensure that countries comply with the regulations that already exist. That’s according to the first ever report on environmental policies worldwide, released by the UN on Jan. 24. The report concludes that environmental concerns have …
Continue reading "Time to shift focus to existing environmental laws, says new UN report (Mongabay)"
QUITO, ECUADOR - (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Indigenous leaders from tropical forest nations have urged Californian regulators to reject a proposed international carbon trading scheme, arguing it would violate forest peoples' rights. The California Air Resources Board (CARB) is due to decide in April whether to adopt the California Tropical Forest Standard (TFS), a controversial plan …
Continue reading "California split over carbon trading plan for tropical forests (Reuters)"
CHACO, ECUADOR - La presa Coca Codo Sinclair (CCS) en Ecuador ha sido elogiada, tanto a nivel local como internacional, por ser una gran hazaña de ingeniería. Pero de acuerdo con ciudadanos locales y expertos, este proyecto masivo también ha tenido un alto costo. Hasta ahora, no ha cumplido con las expectativas económicas prometidas a …
Continue reading "Mega presa en la selva ecuatoriana sigue cuestionada (InfoAmazonia)"
