On the Ecuador-Peru border the Siekopai people fight to protect the Amazon from the oil industry and other threats – and women are at the forefront of the resistance

In June 2025, I accompanied a group of Siekopai women along the Aguarico River in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Mothers, daughters, cousins and granddaughters had reunited to participate in the Binational Ceramics Gathering in Siekoya Remolino, a community that has remained free from oil extraction, mining and African palm monocultures.

They were welcomed by the Keñao Productive Women’s Association, which was founded in 2022 by 26 Siekopai female artisans to promote Indigenous women’s participation and economic autonomy.