Achuar

The Achuar are an indigenous people living deep in the Ecuadorian rain forest. Their total population ranges somewhere between 6,000 to 8,000 people, and, when maintained at this population, they can live sustainably in the
rain forest. They were contacted only recently, within the last thirty years, by Western civilization. As a result of the impact of contemporary forces, the Achuar run the risk of losing their traditions and culture within the next generation.

The Achuar, in partnership with Ecuadorian Daniel Koupermann, have built an ecotourist lodge in the community of Kapawi. The intention of the lodge is to give people from other countries a place to come and visit, to learn
about the wonders of the rain forest, and the Achuar culture. The highest dream of the Achuar is that these visitors will then take their experience home and pass it on to others and from that will be generated a means for
preservation of the Achuar traditions, their sustainable way of life, and the rain forest they live in.

SOURCE:

An Encyclopedia of Shamanism written by Christina Pratt – Copyright © 2007 by Christina Pratt