When I was in the Ecuadorian rainforest community of Sarayaku we met a young film-maker named Heriberto Gualinga. He was the brother of our two local guides, Ingaro and Gerado who made the week-long river journey with us from Puyo down to Kapawi near the Peruvian border.
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In his traditionally built family home made of wood and palm thatch, Heriberto set up his laptop (powered by solar panels) and gave us an impromptu viewing of his film Soy Defensor de la Selva (I am the defender of the rainforest). He had been sponsored to make his film by Accion Creativa, an organisation which supports social change through the use of film and other creative media.
The film shows the struggle in Sarayaku against the incursions of the oil companies who had been granted exploration rights by the Ecuadorian government. The community at Sarayaku strongly oppose this exploration which would destroy the rainforest and when oil workers moved into their territory, Heriberto was there to film their resistance.
Heriberto gave us a copy of the film, which I’d shown to friends, but now I see it’s up on Youtube, so I’d love you to watch it. The version above is 3 minutes long, but if you’d like to see the full 15 min film, the links are also below.
Soy Defensor de la Selva (I am the defender of the rainforest) Part 1
Soy Defensor de la Selva (I am the defender of the rainforest) Part 2
Soy Defensor de la Selva (I am the defender of the rainforest) Part 3
It was a lesson for me in how the use of media is crucial in allowing remote communities to have a voice and take their message to the wider world. And I hope that we bloggers can also use our web-voice in a positive way on issues that affect our world – so spread the word!
Related Posts
A Wika tattoo in Ecuador
Loading the dug-out canoe in Ecuador
Catfish and Anaconda on the Rio Bobonaza in Ecuador
See all my Ecuador photos on Flickr
This article is originally published at Heatheronhertravels.com
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Dominique
Monday 19th of January 2009
Intriguing how people in such isolated areas are able to harness new media to get their story out to other parts of the world. The reach of the Internet, etc. never ceases to amaze me.