The Achuar
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Our Global Work Inspired By The Achuar
- The Pachamama Journeys program brings small groups of individuals on excursions into the heart of the Amazon rainforest in Ecuador to become immersed in the Achuar’s cultures and traditions.
- The Awakening the Dreamer initiative runs workshops and symposiums around the world to inform individuals about how the current dream of the modern world is affecting the planet, and how we can change the dream.
- The Jungle Mamas program empowers indigenous women and their communities to ensure safe birthing and the health and wellbeing of the Achuar people.
The Achuar: Ancient People of Ecuador
The Achuar are a group of indigenous peoples of the Amazon Basin, currently numbering around 6,000. Their ancestral lands – nearly 2 million acres in all – straddle the modern borders of Ecuador and Peru, a remote area that has allowed them to preserve their way of life with little outside influence or colonization.
Achuar Wisdom
The Achuar have lived in and with the Amazon rainforest for thousands of years, and their wisdom represents an invaluable resource for organizations and people concerned with the loss of this irreplaceable treasure.
As custodians of the rainforest, the Achuar maintain a rich culture, including systems of economic and social organization based on the intricate natural rhythms of their environment.
A Self-Sufficient Dream Culture
All aspects of their culture reflect a spirituality oriented around dreams and visions. The Achuar have many ancient, refined rituals to access dreams and integrate them into daily life. Shamans, as the keepers of this ritual knowledge, play a central role in Achuar ceremonial life and community health.
Throughout their history, the Achuar have been self-sufficient and autonomous, sustaining their family groups through hunting and gardening. Once semi-nomadic people, most Achuar now live in small villages, a result of contact with Christian missionaries in the 1960s.
Meeting the “Modern” World in the Rainforest
Oil concessions in the rainforest were first granted in the early 20th century by the Ecuadorian government, with further access granted in the 1960s, when exploration and development increased precipitously. Other industries, such as lumber, rubber, and industrial agriculture, had a similar history in the region.
While their remote territory largely protected them from colonization, the Achuar did experience some change to their ancestral way of life and observed the destruction of neighboring indigenous cultures and communities.
By the 1980s, Achuar elders and shamans were having visions of a grave and imminent threat to their people and culture. As industries moved systematically closer and closer to their ancestral lands, they recognized that the roots of this threat lay far beyond their rainforest home.
Visionary Partnerships
The Achuar believe that retreating in fear from a powerful vision represents a lost opportunity to transform it from a potential source of domination into a connection with ancient wisdom and individual purpose.
Achuar elders and shamans courageously moved toward the threatening vision, initiating a coalition with related – but traditionally warring – indigenous communities, including the Shuar people.
Joining Eagle & Condor
They also initiated a partnership with committed individuals living in the modern world. This partnership grew into The Pachamama Alliance, and was based in the belief that all people on this planet have a critical stake in the wellbeing of the rainforest, whether they live according to ancestral traditions or those of the so-called “modern” world.
In addition to their own dream culture, the Achuar’s call for this partnership was informed by the Eagle & Condor prophecy, which they share with other indigenous peoples of Central and South America.
Innovating in Ecuador & Beyond
From the beginning, the Achuar partnership with The Pachamama Alliance has been a powerful and successful example of intercultural collaboration and mutual exchange.
Redefining Sustainability
One of the first initiatives was the Achuar’s development and implementation of an integrated resource management plan for their territory. The overarching goal of this plan and subsequent initiatives is to ensure the long-term wellbeing of the Achuar lands and culture, and establish their right to self-determination at the local, national, regional, and international level.
Four general areas of action support the overarching goal:
- Developing sustainable economic enterprises
- Recording traditional Achuar knowledge and practices
- Strengthening their ability to defend their lands against outside encroachment
- Building up their governing federation and its leadership
The Pachamama Alliance’s primary role is to provide access to technical expertise and funding that further such action.
Two notable successes that have evolved from this partnership are the Kapawi Eco-Lodge and the inclusion of Rights of Nature in the 2008 Ecuador Constitution.
“Changing the Dream of the North”
While the Achuar expressed that their work with Pachamama in Ecuador was important, they also insisted that it was equally important for their Northern partners to “change the dream of the North” – to work within their own “modern” culture, shifting it from wasteful consumerism to a less destructive, more sustainable paradigm.
Guided by the Achuar’s teaching, The Pachamama Alliance has developed a number of initiatives to promote education and awareness in the “modern” world. These initiatives have enjoyed growing global success, and, along with continued achievements in South America, demonstrate the potential power of joining ancient and modern wisdom.
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