The Ashaninka - are there alternatives to deforestation?

The Ashaninka tribe today is on the edge of western industrial civilisation. Some of them, nearest to the frontier town of Satipo, are relatively acculturated. Along the Tambo and Ene rivers, the Ashaninka have fairly permanent contact with colonists and river traders, coca growers and loggers. Deeper into the forest there are still some Ashaninka communities where the way of life has changed little in the last 600 years. These remote communities want only machetes and medicines from the outside world. Those Ashaninka who live along the main rivers have developed needs and desires for a wider range of western goods - from clothing to foodstuffs.

To pay for these goods they need an income. The most rentable cash crop by far in this region is coca for the illegal cocaine markets. This would be a dangerous and illicit economic strategy for the Ashaninka.

The other obvious source of income is in lumber from the forest. For the first time in the Cutivireni area of Ashaninka territory, this year saw several mahogany trees being extracted with unauthorised permission given to illegal loggers by a handful of Ashaninka. Some of the local indigenous communities are angry at this. All of them have requested help in developing alternative, more sustainable products and markets for their non-timber rainforest and forest-gardens products. This is where Ecotribal comes in.