Images from the documentary project promoting the conservation work of local and indigenous communities, women and youth in the upper Amazon basin.

Amazon Headwaters

Images from the documentary project promoting the conservation work of local and indigenous communities, women and youth in the upper Amazon basin.

Two lowland Quichua men in a traditional dugout canoe ply the Arajuno River in the upper Napo river valley of Amazonian Ecuador. The Napo river is one of two major tributaries of the Amazon river. The Amazon river begins some 600 miles downstream from this scene.

Large canopy-piercing trees such as the Ceibo (Ceiba pentandra) the “Chuncho” (Cedrelinga cataeniformes) and the mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla) dot the forest here, the latter among the most valuable hardwoods in the world.

Established lowland Quichua communities harvest trees infrequently and only for necessity. The nearby Jatun Sacha Foundation has partnered with area residents to collect these seeds and cultivate the valuable trees in family nurseries within the rainforest.