Living Clay: Siekopaai Women and Palm Guardians Restoring Water and Amazon Forests

We are the women of the Keñao Association from the Siekoya Remolino community in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Our people, the Siekopaai Nation, have chosen to conserve more than 21,000 hectares of Amazon rainforest because we understand that our forest, water, and culture are deeply interconnected.

Six years ago, we organized ourselves to revive ancestral Siekopaai pottery, a tradition passed down by our grandmothers. Through pottery, we have strengthened our cultural identity, created spaces for intergenerational learning, and developed community-based initiatives rooted in the sustainable use of forest resources, including the production of juices and fruit pulp from native palm species.

Today, we are ready to take the next step. Our goal is to restore streams, wetlands, and clay harvesting sites that provide the raw material for our pottery. We also aim to plant native palms and fruit trees, establish a community nursery, strengthen Indigenous education in our schools, and create spaces where youth, women, elders, and community members can share knowledge, promote community well-being, and deepen their connection with nature.

Funding will support ecological restoration activities, native plant production, educational materials, community workshops, and the strengthening of the Women’s House, where we carry out pottery-making, fruit processing, and training for our “Palm Guardians” — young people who learn traditional techniques for harvesting forest fruits without cutting down trees.

Our challenge is to protect our culture and territory while facing the rapid changes affecting the Amazon. We believe that safeguarding water, forests, and ancestral knowledge is essential to building a healthier future for our communities and for the planet.