Pekeya

Pëkëya - A sacred journey to reconnect to ancestral land

Award-Winning Short Documentary: This film follows the journey of a Siekopai community (Ecuadorean Amazon) returning to and reconnecting to their ancestral land; Pëkëya/ Lagartococha on the border of Ecuador and Peru. In the process of this journey the elders were able to pass on their knowledge and cosmology to the younger generations, insuring that it is not lost forever. The community were also on a mission to collect the seeds of the endemic fruit trees to that region which not only hold significant cultural value but are also vital superfoods. These seeds were then taken to germinate in the community nurseries created with the NGO Yakum, and then will be used to reforest their land which has been ravaged by land invasions and the ever present encroaching of the mining and industrial palm oil plantations. This short film highlights the importance of protecting and preserving indigenous stewardship of land, and promoting the ancestral nature based wisdom of how to manage the forest.

Directed by: Remi Bumstead

Production Company: Janga Film

Co-Produced with: Yakum