Recently, one of my clients Mike Gingerich, the founder of iGive Global, and his daughter Kaylie visited the Kichwa indigenous community of Shiripuno in the Ecuadorian Amazon with me. The women of this community have a tourism project in which they show their culture to visitors from different parts of the world. Thirty women are part of this project and they work the land (chakra) to produce traditional crops from the Amazon such as cassava, plantain, cacao, and tropical fruits. Some of the activities they do with visitors include making lunch with cassava and palm heart, making the traditional alcoholic drink “chicha” and making chocolate from bean to bar, or jungle chocolate fondue 🙂 We were fortunate to have Soledad with us, one of the Kichwa ladies who actively works in this project.
As we were walking through the chakra (farm land), Mike suddendly had a close encounter with a Kinkajou! If you have never heard about Kinkajous they are rainforest mammals that are nocturnal. They look a little like primates but they are actually in the same family of racoons. This young Kinkajou started following us and all of a sudden he started climbing on Mike’s leg and before we realized he was up on his neck and shoulder! Kaylie, who is a great photographer, soon caught this amazing photo of Mike with the Kinkajou!
Close up encounters with wildlife make unforgettable memories, as Steve Irwin the ‘crocodile hunter’ once said “when people touch an animal, the animal touches their heart and instantly you win the battle for the conservation of that species”. In this case it was an unexpected and wonderful surprise. But where had this Kinkajou come from?
In normal conditions, a wild Kinkajou should had been asleep in the morning when we were out there exploring as they have nocturnal habits. The truth is that generally is very difficult to see Kinkajous in the wild, you’d have to do a jungle walk at night, have a big flashlight to spot them and be quite lucky. They normally eat fruits in the canopy and are great tree climbers. So, our conclusion was that our cute furry friend was probably a pet.
Indigenous people in the Amazon quite often have jungle animals as pets, the most common are monkeys, parrots, coatis, capibaras, kinkajous, among others. Part of the lifestyle of the people throughout the Amazon rainforest is to hunt for animals because their meat is a big part of their diet. Sometimes, hunters get the mothers of animals when they are still carrying their babies. So when they shoot a dart and the monkey or kinkajou mom falls dead from the tree, the baby who clings onto her mom is usually collected and kept as a pet. Learn more here.
When visiting the Amazon rainforest you may have a close encounter with wildlife like Mike did or you may spot animals in the wild! Awesomecuador will always support seeing animals in the wild but it is important to keep in mind that indigenous people keep wild animals as pets in different parts of the Amazon. Nonetheless, just being in the biggest rainforest in the world that holds at least 10% of the biodiversity of the planet and is the home of around 385 ethnic groups is a wonderful feeling! And meeting the indigenous women who are working hard to ensure their survival, preserve their land and maintain their traditions is something else!
If you have the opportunity to travel to the Ecuadorian Amazon like Mike did, do it! It would be a wonderful experience. In Ecuador, you can learn about these kind of active women’s projects who are led by indigenous women and who are taking a step forward towards gender equality and family well-being. They are also passing-on valuable knowledge to the next generation through small-businesess and more. Read more about Mike’s Ecuador Trip Recap and about the Vision Trips created by iGive Global to explore the Ecuadorian Amazon and the Andes! Be inspired!
Awesome tours in Ecuador 