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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Participatory methods and decolonizing science
Our team is committed to working towards the end of coloniality in science and uses participatory and decolonial methodologies designed to foster collaboration, reciprocity, and co-production of knowledge. One of the methods we use is “photovoice”. Here, the people who want to work with us are handed out cameras. A research question is asked, and […]
