Chumpi and the Waterfall: the future of the Achuar of Chicherta

Chumpi and the Waterfall

Excerpt from the Achuar movie site: Chumpi and the Waterfall (TeleAndes) was filmed in the Achuar community of Chicherta in the Peruvian Amazon Rainforest, the last community on the Huasaga River before the border with Ecuador. This is a headwater area, where the forest is full of animals and the rivers teem with fish. Daily life is usually peaceful and calm.

Chumpi, with his father Secha and his grandfather Irar, make a trip to a sacred waterfall where both adults had received a vision as young men. Achuar lands, including this waterfall, are under threat from oil drilling. The Achuar believe oil drilling would contaminate its pure waters and the Arutam spirits which inhabit it would leave, and future generations would lose the power of their visions forever.

Eight minutes in…

…there is a bit about the Achuar peoples’ use of GPS technology to map their resources. Very nice. Here is a snapshot of the mapping shown in the clip:

More Information

Please take a moment to visit the Achuar Movie website. Good bits about the Achuar people, some great images, and a few ways to get involved.

Contributed by Mark Oppenneer Mark is an independent researcher whose interests include culture and development, ICT4D, oral traditions, indigenous knowledge, technology, online communities, human computer interaction and interface design. He holds an MS in Communication & Rhetoric and an MALS in Mythology & Oral Traditions.  Read more...

Filed under the categories "Media: Film" on July 11th, 2012

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Achuar, GPS, mapping, Peru