Two Screenings of the film "CRUDE: The Real Price of Oil"

As a fundraiser for Village Earth's "Peruvian Rainforest Support Network" project, we will be screening the new film "Crude: The Real Price of Oil".

Watch the trailer here:

For more information about the film visit: http://www.crudethemovie.com/

The first screening will be on February 18 at 7:00PM (doors open at 6:30PM) at the Lory Student Center Theater at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado. Tickets will be sold at the door only for a donation of $5 to Village Earth. Call 970-491-5754 for more information on the Fort Collins showing. The Fort Collins screening is sponsored by Be Local Northern Colorado

The second screening will be on March 2 at 5:30PM in Fort Lauderdale. Join us at the Courtyard of the Cinema Paradiso to celebrate the culture of the Peruvian Amazon with arts and crafts on exhibition. Kristina Pearson will be doing a short presentation about her work with the Peruvian Rainforest Support Network, a project of Village Earth. There will also be samples of Peruvian food for sale. "Crude" will begin at 7:00PM. Cinema Paradiso, 503 SE 6th Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Training More Peruvian Activators

Above: Alejandra and Nixon present a map of Peru.

Nixon Yuimachi, a Shipibo artist, and Alejandra, who has been working with Shipibo women craft cooperatives, were both able to attend Village Earth/ the International Institute for Sustainable Development's "Participatory Practices for Sustainable Development" (PPSD) training course. The course was held in May 2008 at Colorado State University, and participants from all over the world attended. Nixon and Alejandra both found the workshop very useful to their future work with communities in Peru. Nixon plans to return home and create a community-based conservation area in order to protect the Amazon ecology, as well as an art school/ museum that will teach young Shipibo traditional Shipibo arts, as well as showcase arts from throughout the region.


Above: Nixon Yuimachi presents with Kristina Pearson from Village Earth about their work in the region to the workshop participants.

Helping Shipibo people to attend our training courses is part of Village Earth's strategy to build up a trained internal catalytic force. Indigenous leaders and change agents receive training in community mobilization and participatory techniques to work with communities toward their own vision for the future. Limber Gomez, a Shipibo leader who attended this training course last year, has been instrumental in forming a grassroots youth environmental organization as well as mobilizing the Ucayali region to work toward indigenous rights and environmental defense through his radio program, community work, and educational workshops using new techniques he learned in the PPSD course.

If you are interested in learning more about this workshop, or sponsoring a Shipibo participant to attend a future training, please visit: http://www.colostate.edu/Orgs/IISD/Seminars.html

Oil Spill in the Rio Corrientes

Check out this video of an oil spill on the Rio Corrientes in the Northern Peruvian Amazon:

The following reposted from: www.servindi.org/
13 Febrero 2008 15:19

Perú: Señores del Estado y de Pluspetrol ¿Esto es o no es contaminación?

Derrame de petróleo el 31 de diciembre de 2007 Foto: FECONACO

La Federación de Comunidades Nativas del río Corrientes (FECONACO) denunció un nuevo derrame de petróleo ocurrido el 31 de diciembre de 2007 el cual contaminó seis kilómetros de la quebrada de Timu Entsu, utilizada por los pobladores para labores de pesca y caza.

La denuncia fue presentada ante la Unidad de Exploración y Explotación del Organismo Supervisor de la Inversión Privada en Energía y Minería (OSINERMING).

La responsable de dicha acción delictiva es la empresa argentina Pluspetrol, responsable de explotar los lotes petroleros 1AB y 8, en la cuenca del río Corrientes, región Loreto.

La denuncia ha sido acompañada de fotos y videos tomados por los monitores ambientales de la mencionada organización indígena responsables desde el 2005 de monitorear y vigilar la calidad ambiental de su territorio.

FECONACO solicita investigar este nuevo derrame de petróleo que afecta no sólo el medio ambiente de los achuar, sino pone en riesgo la salud de los pobladores de las comunidades indígenas próximas a la zona del derrame.

Durante el año 2007 FECONACO denunció a Pluspetrol por los derrames de petróleo ocurridos en las siguientes fechas:

• 4 y 24 de abril : pozos Shiviyacu 12 y Shiviyacu 16 – 17.
• 17 de octubre: derrame en poza de seguridad Lote 1AB.
• 23 de octubre: fuga de petróleo de tubería de diesel.
• 24 de octubre: derrame de petróleo en el Lote 1AB.
• 29 de octubre: derrame de petróleo contaminó la quebrada Tseku Entsa.

Para mayor información comunicarse con FECONACO: +511 065-600454 ó +511 065-600455
Jorge Jordán : +511 254-2490 ó +511 952-36701

Amazon Anti-Oil Campaign

Thank you to all who supported this important campaign!

National and international allies staged an important protest outside the Houston Petroleum Club, while the vice president of AIDESEP (the Inter-ethnic Development Association of the Peruvian Amazon), Robert Guimaraes, took the opportunity to speak to potential investors and let them know the risks of investing in oil development in the Amazon.

Unfortunately, two of the three Shipibo delegates were not able to make the trip because their visas were denied by the US government. In many respects, this symbolizes the obstacles that indigenous people face in participating in global dialogue that are crucial in exercising the right to determine their own "development" path.

The good news is that Robert Guimaraes was able to deliver a powerful message to potential investors and to Perupetro, Peru's hydrocarbon licensing agency. Quoting Robert Guimaraes, "We request that you exclude those blocks that overlap communal indigenous territories. More that 80% of the population in Corrientes river, mostly children, have cadmium and lead in their blood. Just as for you there are things that cannot be negotiated, for us some things, like indigenous land, cannot be negotiated." The cadmium and lead that Robert refers to is the result of over 30 years of Oxy Petroleum operations in Northern Perú, where the Achuar people have been severely affected.

The Peruvian government's latest efforts to place the Amazon region in the hands of oil developers puts the entire Amazon at risk, especially indigenous people in voluntary isolation, and clearly violates international rights benchmarks such as Free, Prior and Informed Consent, contained in the recently approved UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (of which Peru is a signatory). It is precisely the Peruvian government's rather shameful attempt to manipulate, distort, and even suppress indigenous opposition to oil development that makes it so important to support indigenous leaders efforts to make their voices heard at international venues such as Perúpetro's Houston road-show. Otherwise, potential investors not only get a distorted view of indigenous opinion, but local indigenous people are excluded the global decision-making process that directly affect their lives.

Given that two of the delegates weren't able to come to Houston, we would like to continue with our efforts to support these types of crucial interventions. Perupetro is planning another event in August, again designed to divvy up the Amazon for even more oil development. With your continued support, we would like to help these delegates make their presence at this event as well. And hopefully the impact will be even greater.

Letter from AIDESEP to Peruvian Government Officials

Lima, 08 de Febrero de 2008.

Señores:
Alan García Pérez
Presidente Constitucional

Juan Valdivia Romero
Ministro de Energía y Minas

Daniel Saba de Andrea
Presidente
PERUPETRO S.A.

Presente.-

Las comunidades indígenas de la amazonia peruana a través de nuestras organizaciones representativas, en múltiples oportunidades hemos manifestado nuestra firme posición de rechazar el ingreso de las compañías petroleras en nuestros territorios comunales, por que no queremos contaminar nuestros recursos naturales tales como bosques, ríos, quebradas, biodiversidad; en ella se desarrolla nuestras vidas, es nuestro espacio cultural y espiritual y de las futuras generaciones, queremos conservarla frente a los graves consecuencias tales como el calentamiento global y sus efectos los cambios climáticos.

Recientemente, el congreso ha aprobado la Ley Nº 28736, Según el artículo 4° deben respetar la vida y salud de los pueblos en situación de aislamiento voluntario por encontrarse en situación de alta vulnerabilidad, motivo por el cual se prohíben actividades de aprovechamiento de recursos, como son las actividades hidrocarburíferas, nada esto se está respetando en estos procesos de licitaciones, mal informando a los inversionistas, negando nuestras existencias.
Los pueblos indígenas consideramos que la actividad petrolera no es la única fuente de ingresos para el país, queremos conservar nuestros recursos, comos lo hemos conservado con sabiduría, hoy vemos como se destruyen fácilmente.

Basta ya Señor Alan García, usted no puede calificar a los ciudadanos que los eligieron de “Perros del Hortelano” Somos pueblos con derechos, dignos de ser respetados y escuchados.



Robert Guimaraes Vasquez
Vicepresiodente

Risk Profile: Investing in the Amazon

RISK PROFILE: Oil Concessions in the Peruvian Amazon
February 6, 2008 Perupetro

Overview
This year the Perupetro will attempt to auction the 6 remaining oil and gas concessions in the Amazon region, all of which they were not able auction last January. All of these blocks in the Amazon overlap indigenous reserves, legally titled indigenous lands, naturally protected areas, or lands that have special status. The Peruvian government has consistently failed to consult indigenous communities prior to establishing concessions, as required by Peruvian and International Law. Indigenous communities throughout Peru are calling for a suspension of the current concessioning round and vow to oppose new oil projects. To demonstrate concern, some have shutdown oil operations, such as the recent two-week shutdown of Pluspetrol’s operations in the northern Peruvian Amazon. Oil majors like Occidental Petroleum recently announced withdrawal from Peru after thirty years – citing indigenous opposition as one reason.

Unstable institutional framework for investment
Recent controversies between key state institutions regarding the entire process of defining oil and gas blocks suggest that the institutional and constitutional framework of the entire process is unclear. For example, the National Ombudsman Office issued a report questioning the government’s oil and gas development policy and highlighting the controversy surrounding the legal framework that regulates the exploration and exploitation of oil and gas in naturally protected areas. The report also spells out how investors might be awarded blocks that are located in legally protected areas, complicating operational procedures for years to come.

Financing Risks
Many projects have difficulty breaking ground, given a growing number of private and public sector lenders have adopted strong policies (e.g. Equator Principles adopted by Banks making up over 90 percent of the project finance market) to finance controversial concessions. It may be far more difficult for project sponsors to attract co-sponsors or to secure financing for new projects that are opposed by their host communities or that are located in ecologically sensitive regions. Investors and financiers may delay their involvement, require more lucrative terms as mitigation for the additional risk or may simply decline to participate at all. For example, in 2005 Manhattan Minerals was forced to abandon its plans for a mine in Tambogrande, Peru after intense community opposition prevented the company from bringing a major partner to the venture.

Operational Risks
Determined, local communities often have the power to slow down projects and, in some cases, even shut them down. Through blockades, protests, work stoppages and litigation, community opposition can raise production costs and impede the projects ability to bring product to market. Similarly, complying with national and international safeguards for operating in ecologically sensitive areas of the Amazon involve a series of logistical and engineering challenges that if not met, can result in a variety of collateral risks. For example, the Camisea gas pipeline had five ruptures in the first 18 months of operation, resulting in negative public opinion.

Community Opposition
The case for heeding community opposition is compelling. Gaining community consent for a project involves the internationally-accepted principle of free, prior, informed consent (FPIC). Peruvian law and international conventions mandate that communities be consulted, prior to the creation of oil concessions as well as during the Environmental Impact Assessment process. Yet mere engagement or consultation will not always be sufficient to fully address risks. Consultations that do not resolve a community’s reasons for opposition nor achieve consent will provide little assurance against potentially costly and disruptive conflict. Increasingly, major institutional investors, such as the New York City and New York State pension funs and the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, are voicing grave concerns about the financial risks and poor returns from projects that move ahead on indigenous lands without their prior consent.

Recent examples of community opposition include:
o In June of 2007, indigenous communities categorically rejected the entrance of the Colombian Oil company Hocol to carryout exploration and exploitation activities in block 116, even offering their lives: “ the Wampis People express our opposition to fight with our lives to defend our territories and natural resources which are mediums of life to present and future generations…..”. It is worth noting that while a contract was signed almost two years ago, operations have yet to proceed.
• October 2006 Achuar two-week blockade of Pluspetrol’s installations – resulting in a multi-million dollar agreement and costing $2.4 million/day of lost revenue.
• January 2005 Machiguenga protest of the Camisea gas project – resulting in a four-month delay and an 18-month delay in the InterAmerican Development Bank’s loan disbursement to the project.

Before investing in the Amazon, consider these downside risks due to community opposition:
• Increased costs and delays in project construction and operation;
• Difficulty in securing favorable financing or long term contracts;
• Increased costs in mitigating environmental and social impacts.

Civil Society Opposition
Opposition to oil development in Peru is not limited to indigenous communities as many civil society organizations have also publicly denounced the Garcia administration’s policies. In January of 2007, for example, 40 civil society organizations signed a public statement that expressed concern over government policy regarding the process of awarding of contracts for oil and gas exploration and exploitation specifically on those blocks that overlap territorial reserves for indigenous people in isolation and naturally protected areas. These organizations will continue to support the campaign to prevent oil development in these areas.

Isolated or “Uncontacted” Indigenous Peoples
These impacts include: threat of contact between isolated peoples and oil workers - which could include forced contact (as was the case with Peru's Camisea gas project) or even violent confrontations (as has been the case in Ecuador's Yasuni Park); threat to the life and health of isolated peoples because, for example, they lack the immune defenses to confront illnesses introduced by outsiders - leading to possible death; and impacts to the fragile rainforest environment on which they depend.

Prepared by: Amazon Alliance, Amazon Watch and Save America’s Forests
For more information, email investors@amazonwatch.org

If you're in the Houston area, February 8...

Oil Companies to Begin Drilling in Masisea

Above: This map shows the different exploration and exploitation blocks leased out by the Peruvian government to the oil companies.

Below: A view of the proposed drilling area as seen from satellite images.

The Shipibo expressed their grave concern about the exploitation of Block 114 which is home to dozens of Shipibo and other indigenous communities. Not only are the communities living within the confines of Block 114 worried, but also those downstream because of the expected water contamination from the oil sites.

PanAndean Resources has purchased the rights to Block 114 and is expected to begin drilling in 2008.

Pan Andean Resources is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland. Here is an excerpt from their website:

"Block 114 located in Central Peru: 1.85 million acres;
At least 10 anticline structures identified in Block:
Estimated oil resources in block: 400 millions Barrels; API of oil: 30 – 35°;
Easy river access to refineries. Exploration commenced Q3 2006.
First phase involves reprocessing and interpretation of 500 kilometres of seismic followed by 150 kilometres of new seismic and one well.
Technical and environmental work in progress on Rio Caco structure.
Drilling up to 3 wells on Rio Caco to be completed by April 2008.
Block 114, located in the Ucayali Sub Andean Basin, north of the world-class Camisea gas-condensate field, with proven and probable reserves in the range of 15 TCF of natural gas and 600 million barrels of condensate. Block 114 is located to the south of important oil and gas fields such as Maquia, Aguas Calientes and Aguaytia. The immediate focus will be on confirmation and production drilling of the Rio Caco Structure. Potential recoverable reserves are in the range of 90 million barrels. Production would reach 30,000 barrels per day in 2012. The Work Plan will be to carry out the required Environmental Impact and Technical Evaluation work, in order to be drilling the Rio Caco confirmation well beginning in August-September 2007. Should that well be successful, three additional wells would be drilled as soon as practical and production would be flowing beginning in March-April 2008."

There is no mention of the thousands of indigenous people that inhabit the region, nor the possible consequences to the health of the world's largest remaining tropical forest, nor to the world's largest watershed.

According to Peruvian Law: "The Organic Law for Hydrocarbons, Law N° 26221, was enacted on August 19, 1993, coming into effect on November 18, 1993. Such norm was modified by Law No. 26734 as of December 30 1996, No. 26817 as of June 23, 1997, and Law No. 27343 as of September 01, 2000, No. 27377 as of December 06, and Law No. 27391 as of December 29, 2000. This norm, which is intended to foster the investments in fuel resource exploration and exploitation activities, created PERUPETRO S.A. as a Private Law State Company of the Energy and Mining Sector.

Considering such law, the Government promotes the development of Fuel Resource activities based on the free competition and access to the economic activity, guaranteeing the juridical stability of the contracts according to provisions set forth in article 62° of the Constitution of Peru.Likewise, it guarantees the Contractors the stability of the taxation and foreign exchange regimes in force to the date of the signing of the contract.

Law No. 26221 sets that Fuel Resources exploration and exploitation activities will be carried out under the form of License Contracts as well as Service Agreements or other contract modalities authorized by the Ministry of Energy and Mining, and governed by the Private Law, and which after being approved and signed, may only be modified according to a written agreement signed by both parties. Likewise, any modification must be approved by Supreme Decree." (Source: PeruPetro.com)

However, also according to Article 89 of the Peruvian Constitution:

"Rural and Native Communities are legally recognized and enjoy legal status. They are autonomous in terms of their organization, communal working, use and free disposal of their land, as well as economically and administratively within the framework established by law. Ownership of their land is imprescriptible except in the case of abandonment described in the preceding article. The government respects the cultural identity of the Rural and Native Communities."

Although indigenous communities are given the legal titles to their land, their is little protection afforded to these communities under Peruvian law against foreign companies contaminating their watersheds and destroying their forests.

According to the International Labour Organization's Convention (No. 169) concerning Indigenous and Tribal peoples in Independent Countries:

Article 15

1. The rights of the peoples concerned to the natural resources pertaining to their lands shall be specially safeguarded. These rights include the right of these peoples to participate in the use, management and conservation of these resources.

2. In cases in which the State retains the ownership of mineral or sub-surface resources or rights to other resources pertaining to lands, governments shall establish or maintain procedures through which they shall consult these peoples, with a view to ascertaining whether and to what degree their interests would be prejudiced, before undertaking or permitting any programmes for the exploration or exploitation of such resources pertaining to their lands. The peoples concerned shall wherever possible participate in the benefits of such activities, and shall receive fair compensation for any damages which they may sustain as a result of such activities.

For more information about the destruction caused to the environment and indigenous communities by oil companies, check out Amazon Watch and Oilwatch. There are hundreds of resources available on the internet documenting the destruction to the world's indigenous and other marginalized communities and their environments around the world by oil companies.

No matter how environmentally-friendly these oil companies claim to be, it is impossible to extract oil in such a fragile environment without damaging the ecological integrity of the region.

The Shipibo depend upon their rivers and forests for their subsistence and livelihoods. Their economy, culture, and health depend upon their access to healthy ecosystems.

Village Earth is working with communities to help them protect and defend their territories and environments.

What can you do to help?

• You can donate to Village Earth's efforts to help protect indigenous land in the Peruvian Amazon.
• Lessen your dependence on oil and oil-based products. In the global market economy, only when demand for oil drops will drilling cease. Therefore, the future lies in YOUR hands.
• Write to these companies and let them know that you disapprove of drilling for oil on or near indigenous lands in the ecologically-fragile Amazon region:
  
  Dr. John Teeling
  Pan Andean Resources
  162, Clontarf Road
  Dublin 3
  Ireland
  
  
  Below: The indigenous people of Masisea are learning to use GPS through a Village Earth initiative, so that they can monitor their lands and borders.
  

Shipibo Regional Organizational Workshop

Above: Enjoying a relaxing evening after the workshop.

Village Earth was asked by some prominent Shipibo leaders a few months back to facilitate another regional workshop this time with more of an emphasis on intercommunity cooperation. So the Village Earth team returned for a 7-day workshop in early January. Twenty-four Shipibo leaders participated representing six communities in four different districts throughout the Ucayali. The workshop began with a review of past Village Earth-Shipibo collaborations and a viewing of the Village Earth/Shipibo documentary film, "The Children of the Anaconda". Then we began a district-wide mapping session so community members would be begin to think beyond their own borders. This brought up an array of environmental issues as participants discussed sharing forest and river resources with neighboring communities, but also the destruction being wrought by logging and oil companies in the region.

Below: Shipibo children participated by drawing their own map of their community and then presented it to the group. For community initiatives to be truly sustainable, children, too, must always be involved in the process.

Village Earth would like to facilitate collaboration between our project partners, and both the Lakota and Shipibo have expressed much interest in working together in the future as they face many of the same issues being the indigenous inhabitants of the Americas. We decided to do a viewing of the Village Earth-produced documentary film "Rezonomics" which highlights the economic situation on the Pine Ridge Reservation. Although they inhabit vastly different environments, the Shipibo found many similarities in their struggles and learned from the Lakota new ways to think about many of their issues.

This was followed by a discussion on the roles and activities of NGOs (non-governmental organizations) in Shipibo country. This led to a very interesting discussion about NGOs and top-down funding models which many times inhibits NGOs from being responsive to community needs and truly participatory community-based development. The Shipibo have dealt with NGO after NGO letting them down with failed promises. However, this is not purely the fault of the NGO. The Shipibo, too, recognize that they need to be proactive and organized when soliciting the assistance of NGOs. Only when both parties are in consensus and work through the Shipibo model of community organization is there the potential to have successful collaborations.

This led us to the discussion of 'So, what has been successful?' What has worked before and how did they organize to make it happen? This is an important part of the Village Earth process because we want to encourage communities to build off of past successes instead of reinventing the wheel each time. Many community projects had been successful before - from communal construction projects to fish farms. Then we questioned, "How did the communities organize themselves in order to make these projects happen?"

Above: One influential Shipibo leader, Limber Gomez, draws out the model of intra and inter-community governance that the Shipibo people use to organize themselves. This highlighted the disconnect between the way NGOs were entering the communities and beginning their work and the way in which Shipibo communities build consensus and participation for projects.

Shipibo communities already have their own consensus-building processes in which the community authorities hold assemblies where everybody is welcomed and encouraged to attend. From this point, committees are democratically-elected to take on different project aspects which then report back to the authorities and the community during the assemblies. They have their own treasurers and methods for financial accountability. Although this seems like such common sense, it is surprising how many outsiders come in thinking they have the answers or that the Shipibo don't know how to manage their own finances or run their own projects. Yet, the Shipibo are actually running their community affairs with incredible organizational capacity which is only disrupted when outsiders try to impose top-down funding and project management.

We then began the strategic planning session with a five-year vision emphasizing regional unity. This was really a question from the heart - what do they really feel for their community and their people, as opposed to just thinking about what material goods they would like to have. This really forced them to look deep inside themselves to come up with their comprehensive vision collectively. Their vision consisted of four main emphasis areas: Community Development, Formation of Shipibo Professionals (business leaders, doctors, engineers, lawyers), Cultural Revival, and the creation of Micro-enterprises.

This led to the question, "What obstacles are holding you back from achieving your vision?" The participants really focused on obstacles they could change themselves instead of focusing on larger global systemic issues that might seem more daunting to overcome. We then moved onto Strategic Directions where participants looked at what they can do in the next year to overcome their obstacles and begin to move toward their vision. The Strategic Directions really got the participants involved and thinking about what they can actually do to achieve their own vision for the future.

Below: All participants were involved in putting their ideas onto the board throughout the visioning process. These young men were rearranging the group's ideas into coherent groupings for the Strategic Directions phase of the workshop.

Finally, the workshop reached its pinnacle in the Action Planning phase. Participants mapped out their plans for the next three months - practical actions that they can actually take to move toward their vision and be active agents in their own "development" process. Eight aspects were deemed the most important areas for action. They are:

• First and foremost -- protect and defend Shipibo territory
  


• Broader regional unity
  


• Cultural revival
  


• University scholarships for their children
  


• Small business development
  


• An Indigenous Bank to facilitate economic development
  


• Promoting indigenous foods for better nutrition
  


• Shipibo-run radio stations broadcasting throughout the region
  

A committee was formed for each of these eight areas, tasks were assigned, timelines and budgets were drawn up, and finally they were presented back to the group.

Above: Leaders of the group planning actions to protect indigenous territory present their plan back to the group for approval.

These eight areas will be further discussed in forthcoming Blog postings. A Transitory Committee was democratically-elected amongst the participants (with at least one representative of each community present in the workshop) to hold an Indigenous Tribunal in June. This June event will be the follow-up to this workshop and it is Village Earth's great honor that the Shipibo have asked Village Earth to return and co-facilitate this historic event. The Tribunal will be a gathering of Indigenous leaders from all 120 Shipibo communities, as well as other regional indigenous groups, to discuss their own alternative plan for "A Better Ucayali".

All in all, this Regional Organizational Workshop was an incredibly empowering event and a great learning experience for all involved. The Shipibo have expressed to the Village Earth team how happy and grateful they are for our support for their self-determination. Yet, when we asked "Who came up with this plan?", the participants realized that it was completely decided and directed by them with Village Earth only providing the framework from which to begin to question and think about some of these important issues.

Village Earth is honored to work with these amazing individuals that participated in this workshop and the Shipibo people as a whole. And we feel privileged to be invited to co-facilitate their landmark Indigenous Tribunal in June 2007.

Above: Village Earth facilitators Kristina Pearson and David Bartecchi dance with the group as the Shipibo band plays in the background. The community organized a farewell party on the last evening of the workshop to celebrate the achievements of the group.

Below: A special thank you to Mayer Kirkpatrick, Mateo Arevalo, and Freddy Arevalo for their hardwork and dedication to this project.




Above: Thank you to Ralf (Village Earth's media specialist), and Chloe (Village Earth's Poet Laureate) for their hardwork and help throughout the workshop.

Below: A very special thank you to Flora - an amazing volunteer who gave so much of her time to help with translations and facilitating the workshop.

And most of all - THANK YOU to all of our donors - without you none of this would have been possible!

Santa Teresita, Ucayali, Peru

The indigenous community of Santa Teresita lies on the shores of Cashibococha, a pristine lake near to Pucallpa. Jaime Flores Diaz invited Village Earth to their community for an afternoon of cultural performances. Jaime began this performance group a few years ago after taking in several orphaned children. He began to teach them traditional Shipibo song and dance. Jaime learned many Shipibo songs from his father who was a traditional healer of his community. Jaime was worried that this knowledge would be lost, so he decided to impart his wisdom onto his adopted children.

Below: Jaime Flores Diaz, a cultural visionary for his people

Jaime is interested to teach more Shipibo youth traditional Shipibo song, dance, and even theater. He is currently looking for funding to construct a cultural center in Santa Teresita that will be open to all Shipibo interested in regaining their knowledge of the traditional performing arts. They will also be available for performances for tourists. Not only will youth be regaining an important cultural aspect in the performing arts, but they are also learning so much more about other aspects of Shipibo culture such as traditional clothing and jewelry design. They are also gaining more confindence in themselves - young people are once again proud to be Shipibo.

This project fits into the larger regional plan for the alternative development of the Shipibo nation. One of the eight key aspects of the Shipibo regional plan is to rescue their culture and bring it back from the brink of extinction to once again be a vibrant, flourishing way of life that distinguishes them from the Western world. Cultural exchange was an important component of each communities' plans - cultural exchange from the elders to the youth and also between Shipibo communities and the tourists who come to visit them.

If you are interested in helping to support Jaime's dream of a Shipibo cultural center in Santa Teresita, please contact Village Earth's Peru project coordinator, Kristina Pearson: kristina@villageearth.org
or call the Village Earth main office: 1-970-491-5754