{"id":60110043,"date":"2025-11-20T17:20:49","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T17:20:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/?p=60110043"},"modified":"2025-12-01T10:29:42","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T10:29:42","slug":"indigenous-shuar-women-are-protecting-the-ecuadorian-amazon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/forests\/indigenous-shuar-women-are-protecting-the-ecuadorian-amazon\/","title":{"rendered":"Indigenous Shuar women are protecting the Ecuadorian Amazon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Deep in the Ecuadorian Amazon, a silent but powerful movement is flourishing in the hands of Indigenous women. Faced with the advance of <a href=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/en\/climate\/51427-ipcc-report-climate-crisis-latin-america\/\">climate change<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/joint-research-centre.ec.europa.eu\/jrc-news-and-updates\/amazon-region-2022-and-2023-deforestation-forest-degradation-and-risk-growing-soy-production-2024-02-28_en\">deforestation<\/a>, members of the Shuar community of San Luis Ininkis in Morona Santiago province have decided to sow life: they are reforesting with native species, protecting water sources and passing on their ancestral wisdom to new generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-did-you-know alignright block--did-you-know\"><p class=\"block--did-you-know__title\"><strong>Editor\u2019s note<\/strong><\/p><div class=\"block--did-you-know__content\"><p>This article is part of Dialogue Earth\u2019s Indigenous Voices fellowship. The eight fellows are Indigenous journalists and storytellers from across the Global South. The fellowship aims to foreground not just Indigenous issues, but also the storytelling, reporting and insights of Indigenous journalists themselves.<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>This has not been easy. Although their actions are vital for the protection of the tropical forest, Shuar women face a series of barriers that limit the dissemination and recognition of their practices. These include tensions with state conservation policies, gender stereotypes that persist even within their communities, and a lack of equitable access to resources and decision-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-guardians-of-the-forest\">Guardians of the forest <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Clareth Ankuash, 47, is a Shuar woman from San Luis Ininkis. From childhood, she learned from her mother and grandmothers to recognise the power of plants. \u201cMy mother taught me to talk to plants. To listen to the jungle,\u201d she says in a quiet voice.\u00a0Today, she leads a community nursery called <em>Siembra Vida<\/em>, meaning Sow Life, or<em> Iwiakma Araat\u00e1 <\/em>in the Shuar language. This is where native species used for both reforestation and traditional medicine are grown. Her role has been key to the success of this space, which not only provides trees but also hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-article-image aligncenter block--article-image block--article-image--article\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--article-image__column\"><div class=\"hide-expand block--article-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Clareth-Ankuash_San-Luis-Ininkis_Ecuador_Dunio-Chiriap-Jimbicti-2.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Clareth-Ankuash_San-Luis-Ininkis_Ecuador_Dunio-Chiriap-Jimbicti-2-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Clareth-Ankuash_San-Luis-Ininkis_Ecuador_Dunio-Chiriap-Jimbicti-2-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Clareth-Ankuash_San-Luis-Ininkis_Ecuador_Dunio-Chiriap-Jimbicti-2.jpg 2560w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 2560px\" alt=\"A woman adorned in vibrant traditional attire and colourful beadwork stands in a lush green outdoor area\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--article-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--article-image__caption\">Clareth Ankuash is a Shuar woman from the San Luis Ininkis community, which is located in the Amazonian province of Morona Santiago. She leads a nursery project where native species used for reforestation and traditional medicine are grown (Image: Dunio Chiriap Jimbicti)<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Clareth-Ankuash_San-Luis-Ininkis_Ecuador_Dunio-Chiriap-Jimbicti-2.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2 MB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"1707\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"2560\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Currently, 10 people work in the nursery. Most are women, although some men also participate, such as Ankuash\u2019s husband, Antonio Jimbicti, and occasionally other members of the community.<br><br>This nursery has a family feel: Ankuash\u2019s daughters also help her to run it, providing training to other women in the community: five women are learning about seed selection, germination and the care of native species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ankuash opened the nursery six years ago. She works with other women from the community on the selection, germination and planting of species such as balsa (<em>Ochroma pyramidale<\/em>), cedar (<em>Cedrela odorata<\/em>), chonta (<em>Bactris gasipaes<\/em>) and guayusa (<em>Ilex guayusa<\/em>). These plants not only help to restore the forest, but also strengthen the Shuar cultural identity, as they are deeply linked to their worldview. Reforestation, in this context, is also a form of cultural resistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-living-knowledge-versus-external-models\">Living knowledge versus external models<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This traditional wisdom has survived for centuries, but it is at odds with conservation models promoted from outside the community. State policies and NGO programmes working with communities often impose western approaches to environmental management, without recognising the deep knowledge that communities already have. \u201cSometimes, the technicians come and want to teach us how to take care of the forest, but they don\u2019t know what it\u2019s like to live here, they don\u2019t know our plants, our stories,\u201d explains Ankuash. This imposition of external knowledge creates tensions and, in many cases, weakens the autonomy of communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-article-image aligncenter block--article-image block--article-image--article\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--article-image__column\"><div class=\"hide-expand block--article-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20250201_balsa-trees_San-Luis-Ininkis_Ecuador_Dunio-Chiriap-Jimbicti.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20250201_balsa-trees_San-Luis-Ininkis_Ecuador_Dunio-Chiriap-Jimbicti-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20250201_balsa-trees_San-Luis-Ininkis_Ecuador_Dunio-Chiriap-Jimbicti-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20250201_balsa-trees_San-Luis-Ininkis_Ecuador_Dunio-Chiriap-Jimbicti.jpg 2560w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 2560px\" alt=\"tall trees surrounded by tall grass\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--article-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--article-image__caption\">These balsa trees have been planted by the San Luis Ininkis community for reforestation and commercial use. The seedlings used here came from the community\u2019s <em>Siembra Vida <\/em>(Sow Life) nursery, which is mostly run by women (Image: Dunio Chiriap Jimbicti \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20250201_balsa-trees_San-Luis-Ininkis_Ecuador_Dunio-Chiriap-Jimbicti.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2 MB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"1707\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"2560\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Reactions to these situations have been mixed. Some communities have rejected projects that do not respect their worldview or that arrive without real prior consultation. On more than one occasion, they have decided to stop working with certain NGOs or government institutions, especially when they seek to impose their methodologies without listening to local voices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, there have also been processes of dialogue and negotiation. In certain cases, communities have managed to make technicians and officials understand the importance of incorporating their cultural and territorial perspective into environmental programmes. This has happened when there is openness to intercultural dialogue and political will to build together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, in San Luis Ininkis, the community nursery is not part of a state or NGO programme. It was started by the community itself. They have occasionally received visits from technical experts but have only accepted collaboration when respect is given to their way of working. This is based on oral tradition, spirituality and knowledge shared within the community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-pull-quote block--pull-quote\"><div class=\"block--pull-quote__wrapper\"><blockquote class=\"block--pull-quote__quote\">Women have a very special bond with the land, but we also have to break down many barriers to be heard, both outside and within our communities<\/blockquote><cite class=\"block--pull-quote__cite\">Yadira Kasent, Shuar woman and deputy mayor of the canton of Morona<\/cite><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s not about saying \u2018no\u2019 to everything from outside,\u201d Ankuash clarifies, \u201cbut about being listened to first. We do want support, but with respect. We are not recipients, we are guardians of the forest, and we also know how to teach.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite these limitations, Shuar women remain committed to their own ways of conservation, based on oral tradition, spirituality and daily practice. \u201cWe don\u2019t just plant plants, we plant memories,\u201d Ankuash says firmly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-gender-and-territory-a-double-struggle\">Gender and territory: A double struggle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The women face difficulties within their own communities, too, where their role in these initiatives has not always been recognised. Even though they are the ones who protect the seeds, cultivate the gardens and heal with plants, their work has historically been invisible or relegated to the domestic sphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yadira Kasent is the deputy mayor of Morona, a canton of Morona Santiago province. She is also a Shuar woman and has experienced these tensions first-hand. At 34, she is an environmental leader who promotes environmental care projects from within the institutional framework. \u201cWomen have a very special bond with the land, but we also have to break down many barriers to be heard, both outside and within our communities,\u201d she says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In her local authority role, Kasent has promoted the inclusion of an intercultural and gender perspective in cantonal environmental policies. She has led discussions between Shuar communities, environmental technicians and authorities, seeking to have ancestral practices \u2013 such as the planting of medicinal plants, the use of the lunar calendar in crop cultivation and rituals of gratitude to the earth \u2013 recognised as valid tools for environmental management.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-article-image aligncenter block--article-image block--article-image--article\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--article-image__column\"><div class=\"hide-expand block--article-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nueva-Morococha-sm-Sally-Jabiel.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nueva-Morococha-sm-Sally-Jabiel-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nueva-Morococha-sm-Sally-Jabiel-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nueva-Morococha-sm-Sally-Jabiel.jpg 2560w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 2560px\" alt=\"A woman in traditional native dress stands in front of a thatched hut\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--article-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--article-image__caption\">Yadira Kasent is the deputy mayor of Morona, a canton of Morona Santiago. She works to promote a wider range of cultural and gender perspectives on Morona\u2019s environmental policies, and says local women struggle to be heard both outside and within the communities (Image: Dunio Chiriap Jimbicti \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Nueva-Morococha-sm-Sally-Jabiel.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2 MB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"1707\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"2560\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the projects she has promoted, in coordination with women leaders from several communities, is the creation of small community nurseries run by women. These initiatives not only encourage reforestation with native species, but also strengthen the family economy, women\u2019s leadership and food sovereignty. In some cases, women have managed to receive technical assistance through an intercultural approach adapted to their own ways of learning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, Kasent has proposed a cantonal ordinance that seeks to declare ancestral knowledge as intangible heritage and the basis for local environmental planning. The proposal has been shared with community elders and suggests that reforestation and conservation plans include practices such as the identification of mother plants, the use of songs and rituals during planting, and respect for the natural cycles of the forest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Although these initiatives still face resistance, especially in institutional spaces dominated by technical or patriarchal views, they represent a firm step towards a more just, inclusive ecology rooted in Indigenous wisdom. As Kasent says: \u201cWe want our girls to grow up knowing that they can be wise women of the forest, but also leaders, technicians, councillors. We don\u2019t want them to have to choose between the ancestral and the modern, but to be able to walk with both forms of knowledge.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-barriers-to-recognition\">Barriers to recognition<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the main obstacles faced by Shuar women is the lack of access to resources: secure land, technical support, financing for their nurseries and training tailored to their realities. For example, <a href=\"https:\/\/data.landportal.org\/book\/narratives\/2021\/ecuador\">only 25%<\/a> of agricultural production units in Ecuador are run by women, and less than 30% of land titles in the Ecuadorian Amazon are held by women. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Another barrier is the limited dissemination of their knowledge in academic, media and educational spaces. According to a <a href=\"https:\/\/publications.iadb.org\/publications\/english\/document\/The-State-of-Education-in-Latin-America-and-the-Caribbean-2023.pdf\">Unesco report<\/a>, less than 5% of educational content in Latin America includes references to Indigenous knowledge as part of the formal curriculum. Although many women like Ankuash have a deep understanding of the environment, they are rarely recognised as experts. Instead, Indigenous knowledge continues to be treated as \u201ccomplementary\u201d or \u201calternative\u201d to the dominant western scientific approaches, she says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-cd-article-image aligncenter block--article-image block--article-image--article\" itemscope itemtype=\"http:\/\/schema.org\/ImageObject\"><div class=\"block--article-image__column\"><div class=\"hide-expand block--article-image__image\"><img class=\"lazy\" data-src=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20250201_AuroraJimbictiPandama_SanLuisIninkis-Shuar-community_Ecuador_Dunio-Chiriap-Jimbicti.jpg\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20250201_AuroraJimbictiPandama_SanLuisIninkis-Shuar-community_Ecuador_Dunio-Chiriap-Jimbicti-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20250201_AuroraJimbictiPandama_SanLuisIninkis-Shuar-community_Ecuador_Dunio-Chiriap-Jimbicti-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20250201_AuroraJimbictiPandama_SanLuisIninkis-Shuar-community_Ecuador_Dunio-Chiriap-Jimbicti.jpg 2250w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 768px, (max-width: 1024px) 1024px, 2250px\" alt=\"A woman walks along a dirt road, carrying a yellow bucket at her side\"\/><\/div><div class=\"block--article-image__content\"><div itemprop=\"caption\" class=\"block--article-image__caption\">A San Luis Ininkis elder carries <em>chicha<\/em> (a local beverage) to workers at a communal <em>chacra<\/em> (a traditional agroforestry system used by Amazonian Indigenous peoples) (Image: Dunio Chiriap Jimbicti \/ Dialogue Earth)<\/div><\/div><\/div><meta itemprop=\"contentUrl\" content=\"https:\/\/dialogue.earth\/content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/20250201_AuroraJimbictiPandama_SanLuisIninkis-Shuar-community_Ecuador_Dunio-Chiriap-Jimbicti.jpg\"\/><meta itemprop=\"contentSize\" content=\"2 MB\"\/><meta itemprop=\"height\" content=\"1500\"\/><meta itemprop=\"width\" content=\"2250\"\/><meta itemprop=\"author\"\/><meta itemprop=\"representativeOfPage\" content=\"true\"\/><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-pathways-to-environmental-and-cultural-justice\">Pathways to environmental and cultural justice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Despite these challenges, Shuar women continue to make progress. In the community of San Luis Ininkis, the knowledge of the elderly women has begun to be documented in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZzfSM6Voedc&amp;ab_channel=Conservaci%C3%B3nInternacionalEcuador\">audiovisual formats<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/repositorio.uraccan.edu.ni\/465\/1\/Shuar%20AJA%20SABERES%20PRACTICAS%20ANCESTRALES.pdf\">written down<\/a>, so that new generations can learn from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Intercommunity exchanges are also underway. Networks between the communities of San Luis Ininkis, Pastaza and Morona Santiago facilitate the exchange of native seeds, cultivation techniques and experiences of resistance. A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ibercocinas.org\/historia\/puesta-en-valor-de-platos-tradicionales-de-comunidades-indigenas-de-la-amazonia-ecuatoriana-con-productos-de-biohuertos-ancestrales-y-organicos-como-estrategia-de-desarrollo-sostenible-y-res\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">project<\/a> supported by Ibercocinas, a programme of the Ibero-American General Secretariat, strengthened 10 ancestral bio-gardens led by Shuar women. The project also included training in agroecology and community economics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-reforesting-the-future-from-the-roots\">Reforesting the future from the roots<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The stories of Ankuash, Kasent and so many other Shuar women expose problems in the fight against climate change. It is not just about technology or international agreements but also about valuing the practices that have cared for the environment for centuries. As they have shown, there are lessons to be learned from these women if structural barriers are broken down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<a class=\"wp-block-cd-related-news alignright block--related-news loading\" data-post-id=\"60095005\"><div class=\"block--related-news__image\"><\/div><div class=\"block--related-news__content\"><span class=\"block--related-news__heading\">Recommended<\/span><span class=\"block--related-news__title\"><\/span><\/div><\/a>\n\n\n\n<p>Climate justice cannot be achieved without gender justice and without the recognition of ancestral knowledge as the basis for a sustainable future. This is also the view of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which highlights in its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/report\/ar6\/wg2\/\">sixth report<\/a> the need to integrate local and Indigenous knowledge to achieve effective solutions to climate change.<br><br>Shuar women are not only reforesting the forest: they are reforesting the future, from their own roots, with wisdom, strength and love for the land.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Despite cultural, political and gender barriers, these women are leading forest restoration efforts and preserving ancestral knowledge<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":50000822,"featured_media":60110094,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[761,50039902],"tags":[506,20000253,555],"hashtags":[],"country":[50002594],"class_list":["post-60110043","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-climate","category-forests","tag-amazon","tag-gender","tag-indigenous-peoples","country-ecuador"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v26.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Indigenous Shuar women are protecting the Ecuadorian Amazon | Dialogue Earth<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Despite cultural, political and gender barriers, these women are leading forest restoration efforts and preserving ancestral knowledge\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" 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