The Reading Warehouse

Photographs of the Kichwa--an indigenous people of the Ecuadorian Amazon--deploying modern technology in their jungle conservation effort

In Secreto Sarayaku, Ecuadorian photographer Misha Vallejo (born 1985) documents the Kichwa people of Sarayaku, in the Ecuadorian Amazon, and explores how their belief systems mediate their relation to their habitat. The Kichwa's ancestral conception of the Kawsak Sacha, or living jungle, affirms the sentience and interconnectness of the forest, and recognizes that what affects one affects all. Accordingly, the Kichwa take from the jungle only what is necessary for survival. They also believe that they are assisted in the protection of their homes by beings known as Sacha Runakuna. Today the Kichwa are using technology such as the internet to expand their message of jungle conservation of the jungle. Alongside this publication, Secreto Sarayaku comprises an interactive website and a multimedia work.