Robin is waving off
After ten months of fieldwork Robin is leaving the field. It has been an incredible year, with a million ineffable experiences that will stay with him for life. Filled with a deep respect for the Tsimane’ and awed by the beauty of their lands, rivers and all the beings in it (except for those darn […]
At the National Herbarium in La Paz
This week Robin is working at the National Herbarium in La Paz helping with the identification of the many plant and mushroom specimens that we collected over the past year. Supported by the botanical expertise of Mónica Moraes and Rossy de Michel, the data management skills of Edgar Mayta and the mycological dedication of Diana […]
Documentary and photographs
Last month we were honoured to be joined in the field by Joan de la Malla and Aner Etxebarria, who are both highly esteemed portrayers of nature conservation at its intersection with anthropology and local communities. Joan specialises in photography and documented the work of our team during workshops and interviews, remote imaging surveys and […]
Respecting and reciprocating botanical knowledge
This year we have documented an incredible amount of things that the Tsimane’ know about plants: the names given to them, their uses as medicines, food or fish poison, the plants you can use for making someone fall in love with you or the plants that ensure good luck with the next hunt. Soon comes […]
Understanding jatata
Jatata in Spanish, Cajtafa’ in Tsimane’, or Geonoma deversa in botanical terms, is a very important plant to the Tsimane’ people. It is a small palm whose leaves are used to make roofs that can resist the pouring tropical rains with ease for over ten years. Though this plant has kept the Tsimane’ comfortably dry […]
Barricades
Over three weeks ago the first roads were being blocked in Bolivia, as protestors demanded better wages and an end to the ubiquitous scarcity of petrol. As time passed the blockades have become bigger and more widespread and at this point the protests are seriously affecting the country and its people. Luckily for us, most […]
Old friends
This month we had the pleasure to welcome Victoria Reyes Garcia and her daughter Clara Vadez in our midst. This project owes a great deal to Viki – we often half joke she is the intellectual mother and grandmother of much of our work here. Viki started living and working with the Tsimane’ in 1999 […]
Fungal enthusiasm
Our research on Tsimane’ – fungi relations is going really well, and every month we document fantastic new mushroom species with their uses, stories and jokes. Our research suggests that especially the older people know about Bitatu’ (mushrooms), but that this knowledge is currently hardly passed on to the younger generations. Consequently, one of the […]
Mushroom recipe
We documented a delicious recipe for preparing Bo’, one of the mushrooms that is eaten by the Tsimane’. Carlos took us on a walk through the forest to harvest edible mushrooms, which we then carried wrapped in palm leaves to his house. There he washed them, folded them in paya leaves with some salt, and […]
We’re back at the Estación Biológica del Beni!
We’re back at the Estación Biológica del Beni (EBB)! Three months ago, we began our collaboration with the Puerto Belén community, and we are delighted to return and keep building these growing relationships.Together, we talked about plants, fungi, animals, songs, and the beautiful saraij’, the handmade cotton bags woven by women with remarkable skill and […]
