Transformational Advocacy Journey and Amazon Adventure Ecuador: Environmental Justice and Indigenous Rights July 17-27, 2013 Join Amazon Watch on an Amazon Rainforest Adventure that will enrich your life! Leading this trip will be Amazon Watch Founder and Executive Director, Atossa Soltani and 12-year veteran Amazon Watch Ecuador Campaigner, Kevin Koenig. Starting from historic Quito, Ecuador, you ll learn from staff and partners about the history of the struggle to protect the Amazon and support the rights of indigenous peoples who call the Amazon home. Traveling by air and by land, you will see sights that few will ever have the opportunity to see. We ll take you into the heart of the devastation wrought by oil companies who sought profits over people and the environment, getting a first hand look on our Toxic Tour. We ll travel to Sarayaku, home of the Children of the Jaguar where we ll be their guests for two days and nights, learning about this community of Kichwa people, living in a vast, pristine rainforest. They stood up to Big Oil and the government and won their case, establishing once and for all their rights to self-determination and a healthy environment. We charter planes to take us to the Kapawi Ecolodge, owned and operated by the Achuar in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest. A comfortable base from which to explore the forest and learn about the of the Achuar, the Kapawi Ecolodge is an ideal place to soak in the magic and wonder of the Amazon. This is a journey without parallel, taking you safely to the heart of Ecuador s Amazon and providing everything necessary to learn, discover and grow from the experience.
DAY 1 : Wednesday, July 17 th!!!!!! Quito Arrive in Quito. You will be met at the airport and transferred to our charming hotel. There will be a brief time to rest before the group meets for our first dinner together. In the evening there will be optional cultural activities to enjoy. DAY 2 : Thursday July 18 th!!!!!! Quito After breakfast we ll have an orientation meeting by your journey leaders, Amazon Watch s Atossa Soltani and Kevin Koenig, and Altruvista s Ecuador program director, Yury Guerra. We ll meet with partners to be briefed on the situation on the ground in Ecuador as it relates to development and indigenous peoples. We ll hear from representatives from Accion Ecogolica/ Oilwatch as well as CONAIE, Ecuador's national indigenous organization. Lunch at Kallari, a community owned enterprise. A cooperative of Amazon artists from Ecuador, Kallari markets natural Fair Trade crafts and organic chocolate beans in order to promote sustainable development, rainforest conservation and preservation of indigenous culture. We ll then tour the old colonial town of Quito, a UNESCO-declared cultural heritage site before dinner at La Cuchara de San Marcos. Serving traditional Ecuadorian fare, they have a fair trade store and gallery. DAY 3 : Friday July 19 th!! Quito Lago Agrio Coca : Toxic Tour We Leave for Lago Agrio for a full day excursion. We will participate on a Toxic Tour organized and lead by the Amazon Defense Front which was originally formed to fight Texaco, now Chevron, in the worst case of oil pollution on the Planet and to make Chevron-Texaco accountable to the communities that have suffered years of contamination. The company left a region three times the size of Manhattan
polluted with more than 600 open toxic waste pits. To this day, the outdated and unlined dumps continue to leak into the water table, polluting rivers and streams used by more than 30,000 people for drinking water, cooking, bathing and fishing. DAY 4 : Saturday July 20 th!!!! Coca Puyo After breakfast we ll meet with Clear Water, founded by former Amazon Watch Clean up Ecuador Campaigner, Mitchell Anderson. Clear Water is dedicated to bringing clean drinking water to indigenous groups in the Sucumbios and Orellana areas affected by oil activities. We ll next travel to Secoya communities to see examples of the water project, and to hear about their experiences related to oil extraction and new threats to their lands. We ll then travel to Puyo on our way to Sarayaku. DAY 5 : Sunday July 21 st!!!!!! Puyo Sarayaku We ll continue our journey with a quick chartered flight over the vast rainforest to the inspiring Kichwa community of Sarayaku. We ll check in, followed by dinner and an orientation presentation on the community. Day 6 : Monday July 22 nd!!!!!! Sarayaku Staying in this remarkable community in this pristine rainforest, we ll learn about the history and struggle of the Sarayaku community against oil extraction of their lands. We ll learn about their cosmology and meeting with their elders. We ll take nature hikes and be guided through the rainforest and then (depending on availability) to a roundtable discussion with the Kurakas (leaders of the communities.)
We will conference about the Sarayaku Resistance and learn about the status of their struggle to keep oil exploitation out of their territory. We will engage and visit the different educational centers: grade school, high school, university, as well as Tayak Wasi, and more. DAY 7 & 8 : Tuesday July 23rd - Wednesday July 24 th! Sarayaku - Kapawi In the morning we ll say goodbye and take chartered planes direct to the Kapawi Ecolodge in Achuar territory After a welcome and orientation from our Achuar hosts, we ll settle in and then experience the majesty of the rainforest on a hike with our Achuar guide explaining the flora, fauna and traditional uses. Our time will be spent canoeing, sharing in Achuar culture, learning about their rituals and way of life, and exploring the rainforest and diverse animal life in comfort with plenty of time for integration and relaxation. DAY 9 : Thursday, July 25 th!!! Kapawi to Shell to Baños After breakfast we ll gather to say goodbye to our hosts before we embark on a flight over the rainforests, this time to Baños. We ll stay at the delightful Luna Runtun Spa and spend the afternoon reflecting on our adventure and the way forward in circle together. DAY 10 : Friday July 26 th!!!!!! Baños to Quito Arriving in Quito, we ll check back into our hotel and regroup. We will meet with a representative of the Correa government to hear their stance and viewpoint on petroleum driven socioeconomic development. The rest of the afternoon will be spent enjoying Quito. We will enjoy the Chapel of Men by Oswaldo Guayasamin (Guayasamin is the most important painter in Ecuador s Art History). We ll have time to visit a crafts market before our farewell dinner. DAY 11 : Saturday, July 27 th!!!!!!! Quito Transfers to airport and homeward bound...or extend your stay on for more of your own adventures or simply to enjoy the hospitality of Quito.
Amazon Adventure Leaders Atossa Soltani, Founder and Executive Director, Amazon Watch: Since 1991, Atossa Soltani has been leading international campaigns in defense of the world's tropical rainforests. Before Amazon Watch, Atossa directed campaigns at the Rainforest Action Network (RAN) to end logging in endangered ecosystems. She began her environmental career in the late 1980's as Conservation Director for the City of Santa Monica where she designed and directed an award-winning resource conservation program. Atossa also serves as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Christensen Fund and a member of board of directors of Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs. She is fluent in Spanish. Kevin Koenig, Senior Ecuador Campaigner, Amazon Watch: Prior to joining Amazon Watch, Kevin worked as the Ecuador Researcher/Organizer with the Rainforest Action Network as part of the Beyond Oil campaign. He has lived and worked in Ecuador for nearly seven years, collaborating with indigenous and environmental NGOs on oil and gas issues. He is fluent in Spanish. Kevin lives and works for Amazon Watch in Quito with his family. Yury Guerra, AtruVistas South America Program Director: Yury Guerra is an Ecuadorian organizer who lived for twelve years in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a Major in Social Anthropology. Currently he lives in Ecuador and is enrolled in a Masters Program in Social Development Management at the Universidad Ándina Simón Bolívar in Quito, Ecuador. Since December 2004 Yury has been working with Global Exchange coordinating its Ecuador program. He has led over 20 Reality Tours.
Past Adventurers Comments "Our trip to the Amazon in 2011 was the journey of a lifetime. To see the widespread un-remediated damage left by Chevron/Texaco was devastating. Much greater impact in person, particularly on the individual level. Then the trip into the Yasuni National Park was otherworldly... incredible beauty and biodiversity. Truly aweinspiring and we were warmly welcomed by all we met. Can't recommend it enough." Ken L "Journeying to the Ecuadorian Amazon with Amazon Watch was life-changing. I have always been in awe of rainforests and their remarkable diversity, beauty, and ability to help keep our planet healthy, but being there was more amazing than I imagined. I am extremely grateful to have had the chance to travel into the jungle with knowledgeable and friendly Amazon Watch staff. They taught us about the situation on the ground, introduced us to community members, and gave us the unique opportunity to see what is really happening and how our support has made a difference. I will never forget this experience or the close friends I made on this journey. Thank you!" Asia Y Register Your Interest Contact Branden Barber, Director of Engagement, to learn more and to secure your spot on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure: branden@amazonwatch.org or 415-948-8323.!!!! Trip cost - $3500 including domestic flight from Quito to Lago and chartered flights to Sarayaku and Achuar territory. Price does not include international flight and incidentals. Itinerary and pricing subject to change. Maintaining the integrity of the trip and the safety and comfort of our guests are our top priorities. Please contact us for more information and to sign up. We can t wait to journey to the Amazon with you!