I have just returned from a 2 week trip to Ecuador, which included a week at the Kapawi Ecolodge and Preserve on the Rio Capahuari, close to the Peruvian border. It really was the best experience of my life and I hope to stay connected to it by starting a non profit org. to donate school supplies to local communities and by going back to volunteer with the English teacher. The Kapawi project is unique because it is located in the territory of the Achuar, an Amazonian culture who had no contact with outsiders until the 1970s. The land is pristine, with several Achuar settlements here and there. Although missionaries came to the area and the people wear western clothing, they are fighting to preserve their culture and protect their lands. In the northern part of the Amazon basin in Ecuador, oil companies have destroyed much of the land and robbed the people of their homes and culture. The Achuar are trying to prevent this from happening in the south. They value education very highly because they see it as the only way to stop oil companies and other corporations from encroaching on their land. Kapawi is one of the best ecotourism projects I have ever seen. In 2011, the ecolodge will be completely handed over to the Achuar. Many of the Achuar guides and workers are currently learning English so they will be able to be self-suffiicient, without having to hire outside guides or translators. Being an anthropologist and a person who hates change in my own life, going into it, I had doubts about the program, because of its impact on the local communities. However, after seeing pictures of and reading reports about the devastation in the north, I think that a restricted amount of ecotourism is the best way for the Achuar to preserve their culture, environment, and rights. It is a major crisis that affects much of South America. However, many indigenous groups have organized to fight against big oil. There is currently a lawsuit by one group against ChevronTexaco, who dumped 19 billion gallons of toxic wastewaters into the region and was responsible for 16.8 million gallons of crude oil spilling from the main pipeline into the forest.
For more information, please visit these websites:
www.amnestyusa.org/business...vron.html
www.pachamama.org/
www.kapawi.com/
www.rtis.com/touchstone/sum02/04.HTM
www.amazonwatch.org/amazon/EC/burling/

I am hoping to become involved personally in the helping the Achuar. I hope that others will learn about the situation and do the same.