The Real Amazon — Camino Verde

*Vanilla growing on a tree’s trunk as an example of how in the forest’s ecosystem, all life is interconnected.*

text and photographs by Anaïs Van Malderen, Human Ecology intern at Camino Verde 2021-2

Amazon forest. Reforestation. Agroforestry systems. Traditional knowledge. Socio-ecological systems. These are all terms I learned during my education, behind my desk. For years, I had this looming feeling something wasn’t right and that it wasn’t enough. I felt the constant urge to seek the real thing - to experience the tropical forest and all it involves with my own senses. Last year, going to Camino Verde, that’s exactly what I did.

What I expected happened, and much more. Words lack to explain the deep feeling of connectedness arising from being surrounded by so many species, from trees to macaws passing by soil insects, all part of the fascinating, deeply complex, but oh so wonderful Amazon forest. And that’s not everything. Besides this vastness of life, and maybe as a mystical consequence from it, deep feelings of healing peacefulness arose. Passing the initial fear and overwhelm of every living creature and the local weather patterns (rain is truly a hard topic when you’re from Belgium), I got to feel more comfortable working in the field. And with time, I started to understand I was not alone – as if I was entering a vast, all-encompassing home and being so welcomed.

Experiencing heavy rains, having little internet connection, waking up to the sounds of the birds and the sight of the trees’ greenery, adapting your ear to the constant sounds of the cicadas… At Camino Verde, we go back to basics. And that’s exactly what facilitated the feeling of being totally disconnected, but at the same time so connected. Here, in the Amazon forest, without the agitation and pressure of city-life, everything is amplified.

*“La Casa Chimbillo del Amor”, the house where I stayed for three months, surrounded by greenery and trees, home to birds and monkeys.*

After three months at Camino Verde, I had come to learn lots of new tree species’ names. Strangely enough, knowing the trees’ local names and their uses to people and the ecosystem, gave me a certain feeling of connection with them, as if each tree gradually developed some form of personality.

Learning how locals and Camino Verde manage to live in harmony with the forest while using it to their benefit, was enriching as well. This implies agroforestry designs, focus products, cultural relation to the forest, medicine, sources of income… basically all that can give locals an incentive to perform profitable but nature-friendly agriculture. In our society and especially for smallholder farmers, the economic aspects of regenerative agriculture can’t be detached from the ecological aspects of conservation. In fact, as farming in the Amazon is primarily a source of subsistence living, profitability is key to encourage smallholders farmers to conserve their lands.

*An agroforestry field of estoraque (*Myroxylon balsamum) with intercropped açai palms (Euterpe oleracea)*, registered with an application aiming to sustain them in the future through the traceability of plantation activities.*

In that respect, I contributed to the early development of an app promoting the traceability of tree plantations as a source of stable income for locals. In addition to giving a sense of proof and transparency about the positive impact that trustworthy reforestation can have on ecology and climate, the app also provides opportunities to secure the livelihoods of native communities and has the potential to create much-needed connections between people around the world who want to be part of a shift towards deforestation-free and socially engaged agriculture. The app not only gives an accurate picture of what is being planted, but it could also help demonstrate the why and how of tree plantations in the future, allowing the outside world to have a greater sense of connection and understanding of the importance of the Amazon forest and what Camino Verde does.

In short, a lot of promising work is on the table at Camino Verde, and there is great potential for further positive development. What it’s all about is creating this socio-ecological system where people from different backgrounds coexist and cooperate to restore biodiversity and live in a sustainable harmony with the forest’s resources.

Crawling ants on a Heliconia flower, also known as “pico de loro” or “parrot’s beak”.

Part of this whole interconnected system is culture. What I didn’t expect and what was maybe the thing that made my experience more wholesome, was the connection with the people I met at Camino Verde. After learning some Spanish, I finally managed to communicate with the local team and started to discover new ways of thinking and observing that differ greatly between cultures and according to each person’s background. The relation to the trees, certain mystical beliefs, the intricate medicinal power of the forest and its spirits, and other valuable traditional knowledge were all part of the new insights I gained. My own perspective of the world ended up enriched through every single human and cultural encounter. At Camino Verde, from whichever country you come from, you will always be accepted with open arms and respected for your knowledge.

*My last boat ride on the Tambopata river, an important part of the culture and the local ecosystem.*

They say about the Tambopata river that when you drink its water, you never want to leave. As a matter of fact, the deep feeling of connectedness and all the enriching experiences I had are hard to say goodbye to. What I know without a doubt is that I will return to the Amazon forest to discover more of its wonders.

Camino Verde was my first encounter with the mighty Amazon forest, and what a beautiful place to start.