Where did EcoTribal Spring From?

Some pre-history

Dilwyn Jenkins - the founder and Director of Ecotribal - first travelled off the road and beyond the frontier of western industrial civilisation in 1976 at the age of 18. Panning for gold, encounters with jaguars and living for a month with one of the Amazon's disappearing tribes, Dilwyn was surprised at what he had discovered. Having travelled to Peru to learn about the mind of ancient man from stones, ceramics and other archaeological relics, he found that this mind was still alive and, even better, it was more alive than most of those back on the other side of the frontier: in towns and cities, by roads and airports, where there was electricity infrastructure, television etc..

Dilwyn went on to study social anthropology at Kings College, Cambridge and has maintained his connection with Peru and indigenous Amazon communities ever since. Here are some diary extracts, over the years:

1978

"Peru was still calling me, however. So during my second year at college I organised the Cambridge Anthropological Expedition to Peru. There were five of us, all anthropology undergraduates, and we knew we wanted to study a tribe that lived beyond the frontier of our culture, but couldn't agree as to which. Eventually, we placed a large map of the Peruvian jungle on the floor and, with our eyes shut, stuck a pin in it. Perhaps serendipitously, we selected the Ashaninka tribe, a large group which lives in the high jungle region around the Rios Apurimac-Ene and Perene-Tambo, directly east of Lima.

Still one of the largest Amazon Indian nations, with around 50,000 individuals, they're traditionally semi-nomadic, living spread in scattered communities of 50 to 200 people in an area a little bit larger than Wales. It was a tribe that was not particularly well studied by anthropologists, so we were pleased with our selection; but little did I know then how big an impact our donkey's-tail decision would have on the rest of my life.
 

The landing at Cutivireni is still one of my most vivid memories. As the Cesna bumped along the grassy strip, scores of brown robed Indians came out from the vegetaion along its borders, their smiling faces painted with geometric patterns in reds and yellows. Our adventure had begun.
 

Within a few hours we were being guided by Mario, a Piro Indian who was the school teacher at the mission, deeper into the forest along a narrow trail. It was a tough jungle walk, carrying lots of camera equipment and trade items, but we eventually arrived, exhausted, at an Ashaninka village, way beyond the mission. As we entered the village compound with Mario, all the Ashaninka - mainly women and children - scattered and disappeared into the forest and gardens which surrounded their huts.
 

That night the shamaness gave Pete and I some kamarampi (Ayahuasca - the hallucinogencic vine of the soul). The whole village participated in this session, an event and a consciousness-expanding experience which is fundamental both to their religion and to understanding their perception of reality. At dusk the men lay down on palm-frond mats, in a long line in the middle of the village clearing. The women lay down too, but in another line at right angles. One by one the shamaness called her kinspeople over to her to drink the bitter brew from a sacred gourd. Returning to their spots, old and young alike, waited patiently. There was little in the way of conversation as we waited for the kamarampi to take effect. The experience was unforgettable and utterly life-changing. But that's another story"

1982

"Claire and I left the Ashaninka village in tears. We knew it would be several years before either of us would see them again. We had to return to the UK after two years living in Peru and in regular contact with our Ashaninka compadres and friends. It would be much harder to do this from the UK. The nearest phone or post office was at least three days walk away from their community."

1989

"In December 1989 the violence erupted at Cutivireni. When the missionary was in Lima, a column of around 60 Senderistas took over the Ashaninka village and mission station, murdering the mission staff and literally crucifying Mariano, an Indian who was head of the mission school and the man who had originally guided me from the Mission deeper into the forest to make contact with the Ashaninka as a young student. Mariano had taken down the hammer and sickle which Sendero had raised over the mission, so they made a particular example of him, taking his life during a celebratory party after their takeover. Over the next few days Sendero moved deeper into the forest. In the community where my Ashaninka friends live, six women and six children were killed by Sendero when they attacked from behind, while the men were guarding a different trail. For the next 18 months, almost 400 Ashaninka were running from Sendero in the inhospitable hills many days walk from their traditional village sites, gardens, fishing spots and hunting grounds. Over half of these were eventually airlifted out of the region and flown to the Rio Urubamba, six people at a time, by a heroic pilot in a cesna, from an airstrip cut by the Missionary, a French explorer and friend of the Ashaninka, and the Ashaninka themselves in a matter of days while under attack and surrounded by Sendero on a mountain ridge."

1992

"The Peruvian army and navy moved into the Ene and re-took Cutivireni and its strategically important airstrip. The Ashaninka came back out of the hills and congregated around the makeshift military base which was created in the smouldering ruins of the Mission. The army gave guns to the Ashaninka who used them to expell Sendero from their lands and re-capture lost relatives, many of whom had been caught by Sendero and processed through "re-indoctrination camps" set up in what had previously been Ashaninka villages.

Within a year there were 2,000 Ashaninkas living together at Cutivireni. It was a simple case of safety in numbers, though it had interesting impacts on social structures, political organisation and acculturation. Throughout history the Ashaninka have only gathered together into large settlement at times of war; at these times new and charismatic leaders emerge."

1994

"I managed to get army permission to fly into Cutivireni to try and find my Ashaninka friends. Sitting on a box of hand grenades where there should have been a seat, the pilot harangued the Leiutenant minding me and the cargo as flew flew over guerrillas bases where the army feared to tread.

My mission was three-fold: to see my compadre and his family; to find out what the Ashaninka's needs were now and to bring back the best Ashaninka archers to participate in the Peruvian National Archery Contest, partly for the crack but also to raise the profile of the Ashaninka in mainstream Peru."

1999

"In 1999 I was fortunate to be able to visit my compadre in his community with my whole family - Claire, who hadn't been back here for 17 years, our 15 year old twin daughters, 12 year old eldest son and 10 year old youngest son. We had an amazing time. For Claire it was returning after 17 years of taking care of the kids while I often travelled for a month or two a year. She saw some big changes but the Ashaninka remembered her fondly. Our kids proved highly adaptable, enjoying crossing rivers, harvesting wild medicinal plants in the forest and exploring the forest. The most significant evidence of cultural change was the introduction of chicha music which I happen to really like, but changes the atmosphere (at least as long as the batteries last). Our Ashaninka friends were mainly well and happy with lots of healthy children. They still devote time and energy to their traditionally spiritual ayahuasca sessions. The majority of Ashaninka communities have also regained control over their traditional forests after loosing it to guerrillas for several years in the late 1980's and early 1990's."