Tag: <span>Amazon</span>

Power of the Chakra

Power of the Chakra is also known as Espacio de Vida – a community investigation project in Ecuador and Peru that has its own subdomain/website here: https://chakras.subsistencematters.net. My first project as PI, funded by AHRC and hosted in Centre for Agroecology, Water and Resilience. Short intro: Why is the chakra important? What can we learn from the chakra? What are the biggest problems that indigenous communities are facing, and how can the chakra help? What spiritual teachings does … …

‘Living in Napo’: a brief political economy of extraction and colonisation in the Ecuadorian Amazon

This is a presentation of Chapter 3, ‘Living in Napo’, of my PhD thesis (The Protection of Traditional Knowledge in the Ecuadorian Amazon: A Critical Ethnography of Capital Expansion, 2010), which is a brief political economy of extraction and colonisation in the Ecuadorian Amazon. It contextualises my fieldwork (2005-2008) in the Napo region, as well as the key focus of my research in that period, a participatory bioprospecting project. “Antes los gringos decían que somos estúpidos, ahora quieren … …

Awakkuna: Knitting for conservation in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Title: Awakkuna: Knitting for conservation in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Abstract: Crafting certain essentials of everyday and celebratory life (baskets, clay pots, carrying and fishing nets, tools, jewellery and ornamentation) has been—and in certain cases still is—a fundamental aspect of Napo Runa (Amazonian Kichwa of the Upper Napo River, Ecuador) subsistence and conviviality. Making ‘artesanias’ for sale has, for many families, become a key aspect in a bundle of livelihood strategies which confirms cultural identity and conveys a sense … …

‘More-than-sustainable’ cultural forests of Amazonian pasts

Title: ‘More-than-sustainable’ cultural forests of Amazonian pasts: The other side of the anthropocene and the future human habitat. Abstract: The anthropocene, despite contested meanings and definitions, tends to imply a ‘negative impact human social metabolism’. On the basis of a nascent action research project on ancestral chakras (traditional forest garden systems) in the Ecuadorian Amazon with Napo Runa (lowland Kichwa) communities, I explore ‘the other side of the anthropocene’ in the praxis of ‘cultural forests’ (Balée 2013). Archaeologists … …

Vulnerable Amazonian communities?

On May 7, 2020, I appeared briefly on ABC’s RN Drive with Patricia Karvelas. She asked me about the situation for indigenous people in the Amazon with regards to the pandemic. It is difficult to talk about ‘vulnerable Amazonian communities’. Firstly, the Amazon is huge and diverse. There are people living in isolation from civilisation deep in the forest; there are indigenous people living in cities; and everything in between. Secondly, like anywhere else in the world, some … …

Biosocialism for the Amazon?

Title: Biosocialism for the Amazon? Ikiam, the state and subsistence struggles in postneoliberal Ecuador Abstract: As the largest connected system of rainforests on Earth, the role of the Amazon in stabilising global ecological processes and mitigating climate chaos is widely seen as critical and its protection has taken on new urgency. Yielding crucial commodities, the Amazon region also represents, however, important state income. Governing the region efficiently and effectively is thus paramount to maintaining the income flow, while … …

Green transition friction in the Ecuadorian Amazon

Title: Green transition friction in the Ecuadorian Amazon This is a talk (or guest lecture) I was invited to give at Centre for Alternative Technology in Machynlleth, Wales as part of their MSc Sustainability and Behaviour Change in January 2020. It is primarily based on field work done during two fellowships between 2016 and 2019 and draws on my research and collaborations with Amazonian peoples since 2005: Independent Social Research Foundation Fellow, Oxford Department of International Development, University … …

The Amazon as horticultural artefact and why it matters

This is a Lightning Talk I was invited to give at ‘Science Uncovered‘: Friday 28 September is European Researcher’s night, and for the fourth time Manchester Museum will be hosting Science Uncovered Manchester – a special late opening showcasing Manchester’s finest researchers and their work for an adult audience. There’ll be research on show, music, drinks and a lively atmosphere. Our participation in Science Uncovered event is funded by the Natural History Museum, who’ve hosted this event successfully … …