Siekopai Seed Search Expedition Course-and Community Stay.

The Siekopai people live a traditional lifestyle along the Aguarico River in the northern part of the Ecuadorian Amazon and in Peru. They have been good stewards of their species’ rich forests for centuries. 

In Ecuador, they protect about 125,000 hectares of land, nearly all of which is primary forest. Around their houses, they plant traditional home gardens, and have some special areas dedicated to medicinal plants, including one species from which Siekopai families produce a traditional energy drink that many drink daily. 

The Yakum Foundation has been working with the Siekopai for two years now, having produced and planted thousands of local, native fruit and hardwood trees on eight community nurseries. Recently Yakum has collaborated with the Siekopai on a participatory mapping project, to identify important locations in their forests, along the river and in their community. The community is surrounded by primary forests, within which are Salt Formations, and Morete Palm swamps, attracting native wildlife. 

Traveling to different points in community and at Largato Cocha will be by canoe. The walks range from easy to moderate in difficulty, as most of the area is completely flat. 

Save the Rainforest participants will travel from the United States to Quito, Ecuador's capital city and then travel down to the Siekopai community of Remolino where they will stay. There will be a mix of activities including walks into their tremendous primary forests, a visit to a salt formation and Morete Swamp and a longer trip by canoe to Lagarto Cocha, where the Siekopai originally came from according to their creation story. Both in the Siekopa forests and at Largarto Cocha, participants will help in the search of seeds and samplings, for some of the rarest and most majestic hardwoods of the Amazon including Mahogany, and Tropical Cedar. Participants will also help search for useful fruit trees, and medicinal plant seeds. We will take GPS coordinates of the most majestic of these trees, to help conserve these in the future as seed sources for future reforestation work. Participants will also learn how to prepare seeds for nursery planting and will also have a chance to contribute to some of the reforestation work by planting native trees.

While in the community there will be numerous cultural demonstrations, including traditional dances, story telling, shamanism, how to make casabe bread from a local tuber called Yuca, a visit to a chakra, a food processing project and a medicinal plant garden.  There will be opportunities to play volleyball and soccer with the young Siekopai.