YAKUM – The Siekopai Voyage to Lagartococha

The first time Nick Overden, co-founder of YAKUM, heard of Lagartococha was on my first visit to the Siekopai community of Remolino back in 2018. He asked around in the community if families were interested in setting up a nursery to produce Amazonian fruit trees. A charismatic older fellow arrived one afternoon in a blue tunic, glasses on the tip of his nose and a notebook and pen in hand. He presented himself as Gilberto. “I heard there was a guy here wanting to bring us Amazonian seeds – I have a proposal,” he said. “I would like you to help us to travel to Lagartococha in Perú, the home of our ancestors, and collect seeds of some very important fruits”. He proceeded to read off his list “We will need Ësëpoo, Āo´po, Su´teruru, Osasa…” He later discovered that Osasa is the famous Camu Camu, which has the most Vitamin C of any fruit. The identity of the rest of the fruits remained a mystery, but Gilberto´s mission remained with me in my work in Remolino, and over the next 3 years this request would reach YAKUM many times more.

The core of YAKUM´s work in Remolino, and elsewhere in the Amazon, is the regeneration of forests with trees producing highly nutritious, culturally relevant Amazonian food, as well as medicines and materials. Our team has planted tens of thousands of trees of 220 different species across 12 communities in Amazonian Ecuador. In Siekoya Remolino there is little deforestation, so we are helping extend family forest farms with new fruit tree species. Down in cattle ranching areas like the Kichwa area in Cotundo, we are planting the trees in green-field reforestation sites to regenerate lost forest cover whilst producing abundant food. The diversity of fruits within Ecuador´s Amazon is great – the high Shuar and Kichwa territories have very different species to the lowlands of Sarayaku, Siekoya Remolino and Yasuní.

This year Regenerosity is supporting YAKUM and the Siekoya Remolino community to develop a ten-year proposal for development of an eco-cultural credit package to support the Siekopai in conserving their culture and the 24,000ha of primary forest they protect, together with Terra Genesis International. Mike devised an interview methodology to work with community families to build an image of their Sense of Place or Story of Place, as a base from which to write the proposal for actions that would be carried out on the ground – the community will to work on the project, derived from the essence of their relationship with their land. We will develop the eco-cultural benefits verification package with the community, quantify chosen co-benefit parameters and build a monitoring and evaluation system to track the impact over time. Someone in the community asked us if we could go to Lagartococha again – we figured this was the perfect moment to have some golden opportunities to dialogue with a cross-section of the community about what being Siekopai in their place is all about, whilst helping Gilberto realise his dreams.

Mike and Nick drove up from Tena the previous day – a 7-hour drive snaking through the high Sumaco volcano pass, the stale oil towns of Coca, Sacha, and Shushufindi, and through the 20,000 hectare palm oil plantation right up to the Siekopai land border, and through the Tierras Orientales colonist land invasion, which is the main canoe port they use to enter the community. Arley and Ruth were waiting to receive us – still smiling, although they had been flat out for days organising the gasoline, food, and people for the trip, and had a long night of tasks ahead to ensure they were to lead a safe trip in the morning.

The Siekopai or “Multi-Coloured People” are a vibrant group who dress in tunics of all colours and speak “Paicoca” language. Their colourful, ancient culture of complex gastronomy, incredible and understated craftsmanship in ceramics, weaving, building and woodwork, and vast knowledge of the forest is a real joy to discover. Their comprehension of forest plants and animals, gained through centuries of hunting and gathering forest foods and medicines, is mindblowing, yet they are relaxed, light-hearted and open.

They are deeply spiritual, and have a long history of taking yajé or ayahuasca, to “travel to heaven” and move between 9 dimensions of life, in and out of a dreamworld – shamans of old could become jaguar, or boa, and control all the animals in the forests. The Siekoya Remolino community YAKUM works with is situated on the banks of the Aguarico River at the opening of the Cuyabeno Reserve. Already we are down at around 200 metres above sea level – the trees and fruits found around here are different to Tena where we live.

At 5:00am Ruth´s father Bartolo had the first canoe loaded, and was waiting for us. With his family, we headed downriver, collecting Roque and Carmen, an elder couple who were born downriver in Perú. Roque spent much of his youth travelling between Pantoja and Putumayu (Colombia) and Lagartococha before moving upriver to live in San Pablo, and later Remolino. More community members boarded - children, women, men of all ages. We were more than 20 in two canoes – by 9am we were ready to go.

Down by the border, we were shown the island where the famous Shaman Cesario lived. His son César, and another elder also living here, Roberto, were among the founders of Siekoya Remolino. Later, signs appeared saying “Kichwa territory” and “Cuyabeno Reserve, Ministerio de Ambiente”. Both cause great commotion. “This has always been our land. Our ancestors grew up here, it does not belong to the government and definitely does not belong to the Kichwa – they weren´t here before the war with Peru” we´re told. “Whilst many people in Siekoya Remolino rarely come here or have never been, this is our homeland, and we are in a legal battle to get back the legal title.”

The journey mainly follows the wide, bleak River Aguarico. The river running from Siekoya Remolino to the border has tolerated heavy contamination from the Texaco-Chevron oil saga and all manner of mining since the 1960s, and more recently suffers from palm oil plantation agrochemical runoff.

We turn into a small tributary, now in Peru. There is a line where the brown water of the Aguarico meets the black water of the Lagartococha lagoon network. We stopped for lunch and some children spotted four pink Amazon river dolphins. “Wëwë!!!” they shout in Paicoca. Later the river opens out – still black water sits like a mirror in the lagoon, reflecting the beautiful flooded forest landscape on either bank. Out from the mirror grow clumps of Bactris palms, Camu camu bushes loaded with fruit, and short, chubby “Ja´to” trees stand guard. Great excitement builds in the canoe when a group of howler monkeys are seen in trees by the riverbank. We would see many more here, along with giant otters, more dolphins, wooly monkeys, caiman and macaws. At nightfall we arrived at the house of a jolly, welcoming chap, known to all. An unexpected arrival, Ramiro laughed when he saw everyone, and showed his distant family where they could sleep. Five wooden houses with thatch roofs and a small clearing in the middle of Lagartococha welcomed us.

Miller´s Saki Monkey at the banks of Lagartococha´s lagoons

Borys ascends to harvest fruit for the group, a new species of ice cream bean

Ramiro took us round the rivers and lagoons the next day. Both canoes career upriver and he points at a bush ahead, so we stop. He got up and said “this is Pënka – you kinda just suck the seed” – everyone in the canoe got up led by Ruth, and began harvesting the fruit. Next, a much larger tree. “Masiocutu” – a wild relative of cacao with sweet delicious pulp. “The other one, Tanquepona, is better” he says. Borys, a 24-year old from the community, and Ramiro´s son Alexis, ascend the tree and quickly harvest the fruits. Later, we collected Osasa (“Camu Camu”), an almost identical fruit called Caroró (a much larger tree), a delicious red fruit akin to a very fine cherry called Huea yají, and many species of wild “Ice Cream Bean”. Then in the blink of an eye, it starts to rain. Out come ponchos, sheets of black plastic used to waterproof luggage on the journey, waterproofs, plastic bags. We were lucky to be under a large plastic sheet – when it rains here, if you´re not under something completely waterproof you get soaked to the bone - this went on for two hours.

The following day we had been invited to drink yocó at 5am. We passed around a calabash of the bitter stimulant drink, whilst Ramiro outside shaved the bark off another length of the yocó vine. Yocó is the same plant genus as guaraná and has similarly energising properties – this is the Siekopai equivalent of tea or coffee – it keeps you focused, clear and energised to work until well into the afternoon. Mike and I both found ourselves in the Siekopai zone for much of the day, having extremely valuable conversations with community members – Bartolo, Sandra, José and Carmen explained that Siekoya Remolino had been a sort of missionary outpost, after a group of Siekopai were encouraged to move by missionaries, having wanted to escape the Peru-Ecuador war, and earlier trauma from slavery by rubber workers. The place had great soil for growing plantains, but was lacking many elements important for being Siekopai, which are found in Lagartococha.

Many mentioned that their ancestors had not only lived here, but they could feel them with us in the canoe and on the walks. One member of the group expressed that they “wished to be buried here when they passed on”. “We need more trips here in different seasons to collect other seeds, and we need to go to the real motherland – Wajoya in Peru.” said another. “Our children need to learn what it is to live in Lagartococha”. Ramiro told of a very special fruit that is only found in Peru, which is akin to a small watermelon, but grows on a large tree. He remarked “I know what's important about being here, and that's why I live here.”

In the morning, one canoe motor broke down. Arley and Silvio debated for a while. “We need another motor”. Rowing back to Ramiro´s, we borrowed his canoe and headed for the nearest motor we could borrow, in another community at 3 hours´ canoe trip – Mañoko, in Perú. The negotiation was quick, it was agreed to pay back the favour later with labour. Arley asked an elder in the community named Alistire, if he was willing to try to find and collect seeds for the Āo´po, Ësëpoo and Su´teruru, we would buy when we came – he agreed.

There are three fruits spoken most highly of by elders, which were on Gilberto´s list and had not been found yet - Ësëpoo, Āo´po, Su´teruru. Ramiro took us to see one immense Su´teruru tree, perhaps 35 metres tall –fruits were spotted way up in the canopy. Great excitement - women and men peered into the leaves above. José, Arley´s father, appeared with a strip of bark in hand and began to plan with Bartolo how to ascend. Bartolo began to climb a large vine, hoping to shake the branches above it was connected to – no luck. José clambered up a fallen tree diagonally crossing the large tree´s trunk –and quick as a flash, he was in the crown of the tree 30 metres up. Without fear, he climbed way out and shook the branches. A single fruit fell and there was huge commotion. Bartolo took the Su´teruru in hand, and was immediately surrounded by anxious onlookers. He split the fruit with his machete, and pulled the two halves apart. “It´s not ripe” said Carmen. “Yes, but the seeds are good!” Maritza reassured him– the first Su´teruru seeds were in hand.

Bartolo opens the unripe first Su´teruru fruit

We collected four more baskets of Camu Camu on the way to Mañoko. Quinine saplings, whose bark is effective against Dengue and Malaria were collected in an enclosed beach area. Arriving in Mañoko, Alistire had kept his word and already found both Āo´po and Su´teruru seeds - the following day, we visited more trees and more were collected. I talked with him on the last night and he told tales of cannibals in Colombia. The current moment in any one community is just skimming the surface – many centuries of history have passed here with no written documentation. A conversation with an experienced and well-travelled elder for a couple of hours can be an unforgettable gift.

Returning from the last day´s expedition, an impromptu football game ensued. A great stress reliever after all the organising, the damaged motor, and weariness from seed trekking. Elder members of the group and people of Mañoko watched the game. A great coming-together at the end of the trip, around the shared experience of getting to know Lagartococha, new plants, and getting to know extended family. The Siekopai collected more than 25,000 seeds of 25 different species of trees (and the odd shrub), and whilst the Ësëpoo remained elusive, someone would have to return to Mañoko to return the damaged canoe motor, and Alistire had promised to find and collect seeds in the meantime.

Through shared experiences of doing routine things (like fishing, making casabe bread, going to collect wasoka fruits, hunting) together people become experts, and shared experiences of these routines creates shared meaning. In Lagartococha, because it is a very unique landscape, there is some share meaning that can´t be experienced in other places – nor in Remolino. How to prepare quinine medicine, identifying Ësëpoo trees in the forest, how to navigate the lagoons. So Lagartococha has its own shared culture, different to Siekoya Remolino and anywhere else in the Amazon

Coming to Lagartococha seems to be a rite of passage for the upriver Siekopai. The stress of Western structure imposed upriver is lost here – their time is not defined by the Christian January-to-December calendar, nor the Monday-to-Sunday routine. There are no school reports or government paperwork. For example, when the wasoka fruit is in season, life begins to revolve around either visiting trees to collect and eat the fruit, or hunting - small animals eating wasoka "fatten up” at this time. Here, they can come to be truly Siekopai and reconnect to the shared meaning of Lagartococha, paddling the lagoons, fishing, collecting fruit and medicine, cooking, hunting, watching the animals, and recharging their batteries. Being able to connect with the spiritual homelands of Lagatococha, Wajoya, and beyond, is paramount to the vitality of the Siekopai, and whilst gasoline prices prohibit the journey for most, bringing back seeds for these special fruits permits the Siekopai in Remolino to bring part of the homeland to their place. In some years´ time, when the newly planted sweet fruits of their ancestors produce - Ësëpoo, Āo´po, Su´teruru, and Osasa, they can be transported to the homeland of their ancestors, to the Siekopai flooded forests, and tell the stories of Lagartococha to new generations of Siekopai youth.

This, is only the beginning.

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Anna AndradeJune 16, 2022