Hope for the Huaorani and the Ecuadorian Rainforest.

I once listened to a man telling a story. We were in the middle of the jungle, the air heavy with moisture, surrounded by the luscious green of palm leaves and ancient trees. Around us was the sound of cicadas, the occasional bird and a general hum of insects.

The man was Bai, an indigenous Huaorani tribesman from the Amazon basin in Ecuador, a tribe that only had first contact in the 1950’s. The story was one of how the ‘oil men’ came into their territory and started extracting oil, polluting the waters, reducing their hunting grounds and invading their home. He showed us scars on his torso where a spear had gone through him. Not as you would imagine from the oil men, but from a neighbouring tribe they “hired” to remove his. The oil extraction and exploration in this area started over 40 years ago and is still happening today. However, I read two weeks ago that the Huaorani people have just won a landmark court case that stops the government from auctioning off their land without their permission. This means the oil companies can no longer (in theory) search for or extract oil in their protected territory. Why were we in a jungle listening to this man? We were staying in a Huaorani community within the jungle in one of five ‘cabins’ they built to allow outsiders to see their home, their jungle and learn about their hunter-gatherer way of life.

We’ve stayed in jungles on various occasions; in Borneo, Costa Rica, Belize and twice in the Amazon. We know what it’s like, we know we like it and we know we will be doing a lot more jungle excursions in the future. The places we’ve stayed have all been either hotels or eco-lodges, so although fully experiencing the jungle, we have had some element of normality or even luxury.

That is, until we went to stay with the Huaorani tribe. Staying in their community, walking the jungle every day and even bathing in the piranha infested river (the pump had broken so our showers were out of commission) we discovered that this is true jungle living. Our flight there was in the smallest aircraft we’ve ever been in, only carrying 5 people (including the pilot) and the landing runway was a mere strip of mowed grass in a small clearing in the jungle.

The Huaorani are hunter-gatherers and have always lived harmoniously with the jungle. Bai, our Huaorani guide, and his family still live this lifestyle and he was extremely proud to show us ‘his’ jungle and how they survive there.

Survival lesson one: Find food. The Huaorani hunt, among other things, peccary (wild pig), monkeys, birds and piranha. They do this using poison blow darts or spears and we were given a lesson in both. While the spears are very much like throwing a javelin, the blow darts are much harder work. They are extremely long (over 7 feet) and made from very heavy palm wood. So heavy in fact I couldn’t lift it to blow the dart. Clark on the other hand was rather a good shot (his is the bottom dart and that target was 100 feet away).

We visited one family in the community and were invited into their home, a large triangular structure with a palm leaf frame. Our timing was good, as within 10 minutes the men of the family (these guys are extremely muscly, and not wearing much, I’m guessing zero body fat) returned from a two day hunting trip. They were successful in catching a peccary and I was honoured when the ‘grandmother’ gave me a piece of its liver. I’m glad to say it had already been cooked and I am rather partial to liver. It tasted the same as pig liver, no surprise there.

Not only do the Huaorani carry the blow darts while hunting in the jungle, they climb trees whilst holding them in order to hunt monkeys or birds that are high up in the canopy. A feat which Bai demonstrated. Do not do this at home. I did attempt the tree climb, but didn’t get very far up (as you can see – probably for the best).

We were also shown some of the ‘easier’ things to eat that didn’t need any instrument of death. We tried what looked like a seed pod, but when cracked open contained water very much like that in a coconut. Very refreshing. We also tried lemon ants, so called because they really do taste like lemon (they were quite hard to catch and had a habit of running around your mouth before you caught them in your teeth, but tasty).

Lesson two – Do not get bitten. Insects cannot be avoided when you’re in a jungle, and we had our fair share of encounters…especially in our room. Here’s a tip. Do not check your room for insects (i.e. get a torch and search every corner), you will find them. Our first evening Clark did just this and guess what? He found a tarantula, nicely tucked away in a corner, minding his own business. Once you know it’s there, you can’t relax until you know it has gone (it really wouldn’t have bothered us). That was the first night. The second night was a giant Amazonian cockroach (bigger than Clark’s hand – including his fingers), the third a bat with a wing span of about 70cm flying around the room. Our hosts were very obliging in helping us remove our uninvited guests each evening.

Of course we saw plenty of insects outside the room too. A Bullet Ant, that no matter how many times Clark hit it with his size 11’s, didn’t desist. It is so called because its bite is as painful as being shot, so not something you want to be in close proximity to. I had to bypass a swarm of very angry bees, angry because 3 people before me had walked past their nest and I was the last, they were in quite a frenzy and I had to take a wide berth Not happy.

Did you know of such a thing as ‘Jumping spiders’? We didn’t until we steered our canoe through a bush full of them. We then had a canoe full of jumping spiders. Fortunately they don’t bite and neither of us are too bothered by spiders (unless it is a tarantula in our room).

The positive of so many insects is the noise. The sound of cicadas, crickets, frogs and the occasional owl makes for the most amazing white noise at night. It is something Clark and I are totally in love with and one of the things we get most excited about when we’re going to a jungle (which happens to go hand in hand with the most amazing, peaceful and deep night’s sleep).

Lesson 3 – Experience the local culture and crafts.

Bai took us to meet his family and other members of the community. They are a genuinely happy people, we saw a lot of smiles as we were greeted with a traditional dance. The young women of the tribe encouraged us to join in and made us feel very welcome. Bai’s wife was very warm, very open and gave us each a Huaorani name and painted our faces in the traditional Huaorani way. While she painted our faces she didn’t stop telling stories, telling us about her life and the Huaorani ways. She didn’t speak English, but just listening to her and seeing the friendly and enthusiastic expressions on her face, we knew these were all happy stories and things she was proud to tell.

We were also shown how to weave leaves and vines to make baskets and head-dresses. This is something they like to show all their guests and we were quite proud of our creations. I took my basket out with me on all my jungle excursions to carry my camera, bird book and water. Very useful. One of the younger Huaorani women was so enthused by what Bai was showing us that she wanted to contribute to their venture and teach me how to make bracelets using local vines and seeds as beads. It seems the whole community wants this project to work so they can sustain themselves in their ever changing environment and in the modern world.

Why is the jungle so special?

When I’m in the rainforest, I feel small, but strangely, for all the potential dangers, I feel safe. This forest has been here for thousands of years, it has protected and given homes to people and creatures alike, it has provided food and shelter to the people and animals that live within it. But more than this, it gives to the whole planet by producing oxygen, by reducing green house gases and by housing the plants that we use to produce life saving medicines. I am in awe of what this jungle is. I respect the jungle and I hope the results of this ground breaking trial will push other governments to protect their rainforests, or to give that privilege to other indiginous tribes who totally respect and work symbiotically with the jungle. We could all learn from them, their way of life has always been one of sustainability. “I take from the forest only what I need, I give back what I can”.