An Evening with Amazonian Leader Ramiro Vargas

First contacted by the Western world in the 1960’s, the Achuar people of the Ecuadorian Amazon have spent the intervening decades protecting the rainforest from oil drilling, gold mining, and logging. The Achuar recognize themselves to be the forest and understand that the protection of the jungle, their culture and their communities are inseparable. Come spend an evening with Achuar guide and leader of his community, Ramiro Vargas, lovingly known as Chumpi, in conversation about the Achuar way of life and what it is to live at one with nature. Chumpi will speak about how, despite increasing threats of environmental destruction and cultural imperialism, they are nurturing and sustaining their language, lifeways, and traditions. Community cohesion and capacity for intergenerational exchange are critical for the protection of territory, traditional knowledge and rights. Chumpi will share the simple but innovative ways of fostering unity in the Achuar territories. All are