IEK-CHANGES on the air: sharing stories from the Bolivian Amazon
What can the Tsimane’ people teach us about living well? How is Indigenous environmental knowledge passed from one generation to the next? And what is it really like to spend weeks working in one of the world’s most culturally and biologically diverse regions in the world? These were just some of the topics explored by […]
Bringing the IEK-CHANGES family together
One of the highlights of our latest field campaign was bringing together the full IEK-CHANGES team for a joint gathering in San Borja, Bolivia. Researchers, co-researchers, translators, field technicians, botanists, students, collaborators, and institutional partners came together to celebrate the people behind the project and our shared commitment to understanding, documenting, and supporting Tsimane’ biocultural […]
Our IEK-CHANGES T-shirts are here!
Our brand-new IEK-CHANGES T-shirts have finally arrived! Beautifully illustrated by our friend and artist Mar Cartró-Sabaté, the design portrays a Tsimane’ woman sharing knowledge with her daughter beneath the forest canopy. Together, they are observing the understorey palm locally known as cajtafa’ (Geonoma deversa), a cultural keystone species for the Tsimane’ people and a powerful […]
New paper on Amazonian biosphere reserves
How effective are UNESCO’s biosphere reserves at protecting Amazonian forests? Our new study published in the journal Conservation Science and Practice provides encouraging evidence that they play an important role in slowing deforestation across the western Amazon. The study assessed seven biosphere reserves in Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador, including Pilón Lajas and Beni, two landscapes […]
Robin shows us a typical day in the field!
What does fieldwork in the Bolivian Amazon really look like? A new short video featuring our PhD researcher Robin Bredero zur Lage offers a glimpse into the day-to-day realities of ethnobiological research and has quickly become one of our most successful social media posts to date! Filmed during fieldwork with the Tsimane’ people in the […]
Preserving botanical knowledge for the future
We are delighted to share that we have recently donated 105 duplicate botanical specimens collected as part of the IEK-CHANGES project to the Herbarium of the Institut Botànic de Barcelona. These specimens complement a corresponding set of duplicates housed at the Bolivian National Herbarium, ensuring that this valuable botanical heritage remains accessible both in Bolivia […]
Welcome back, Júlia!
After several months in the Bolivian Amazon, we are delighted to welcome Júlia Orrit back to Barcelona following the second phase of her fieldwork with the Tsimane’ people. During her time in Bolivia, Júlia collected important data on Cultural Keystone Species and advanced research on changes in the plants used by Tsimane’ women to make […]
A walk in the forest
Written by Alexandra Florence Gilbert We started off as three. Three became seven, then five more joined, and soon we were a long snake of women weaving our way through the forest. We were on the lookout for plants collected and used by local Tsimane’ women to create beautiful seed necklaces and woven saraij bags. As […]
Welcoming two new MSc students to the team
We are truly delighted to welcome two new MSc students, Alexandra Florence Gilbert and Nathaniel Rugh, to the IEK-CHANGES project. Alex and Nate join us at a particularly meaningful moment in our journey, as our work continues to grow alongside the Tsimane’ people and their deeply rooted, precious knowledge systems. Over the coming months, they […]
Starting a new field campaign!
Our team has officially begun a new field campaign in the Bolivian Amazon. After a couple of intense days in San Borja gathering supplies and preparing equipment, the team is now heading upriver and into the forest to begin the next phase of fieldwork. Over the coming weeks, the team will work hand in hand […]
