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The
vision
Our primary objective is to defend our territory from oil
exploitation, preserve its biodiversity and our culture through self
managed development. These are our objectives, initiated by our
people, they have not been imposed by outsiders. The Ikiam
Expedition is our project, initiated by Pascual
Kunchicuy (a Shiwiar), the founder of "FUNSSIF" (Fundation Shiwiar
Sin Fronteras). The initial impetus originated from the tribe
itself, but the project only really took off in 2004 with the aid of
Pascal Languillon (the founder of the French "Pascal Languillon"),
who provided the detailed knowledge of the outside world and gave
the project a distinct vision.
The project vision is to
propose a new form of ecotourism, where the tourist is not just a
tourist, but a real actor of its own adventure. We want to offer a
different kind of tourism, not based on a capitalistic model but
rather on responsible tourism principles. This expedition is for
people who don't usually like tours. Here you will not be seen as
clients, but rather as friends who has come to help us
out.
What we care the most about is to maintain the reality
of our place. We do not want to perform cultural acts like shamanism
rituals just to please tourists. We do not want folklore. We just
want to show you our place and our current way of life.
To
make this vision come true, we have decided to make you live this
experience as if you were a Shiwiar. We will not provide a fancy
restaurant nor expensive cabañas. We are not going to create a
pocket of your world in the jungle. We believe the experience we are
offering is far more real and far more valuable, because we are
offering the genuine opportunity to experience our culture and our
way of life. You will be invited to participate in daily activities
as part of our family, from making ceramics and arrows, walking in
the forest and swimming in the river. We have not designed a program
for people who want a comfortable tour, we have opened our community
to people brave enough to participate in it. To achieve this the
number of visitors will be restricted to five per week, but as the
project is still in its infancy you will probably be on your
own.
The project has received some financial funding from the
Ecuadorian CODENPE and the U.S Agency of International Development. We are
however still looking for more financial and technical support. If
you or your organisation is interested in helping please contact us,
we will be grateful for anything you can offer.
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