Born in California, USA, Tycho has been my companion in most of my trips to the Waorani territory. He is a very intelligent person and very loyal to his convictions. Our long conversations under the starlight have really influenced my way of seeing the world. He has helped me through some difficult times in my life and we have shared some amazing moments together. I consider Tycho to be one of my very best friends.

He is a permaculture expert and whenever he can he travels throughout the world.

While organizing our next trip into the Waorani territory, Tycho and I met Karoline in Quito. She was conducting her thesis in biology, researching the relationship between the Waorani and the oil companies in their territory and the Yasuni National Park. After a brief stay in Costa Rica, Tycho and Karoline traveled back to the United States backpacking. Nowadays they live a simple life in Denmark.

Some of the photographs shown in this webpage are hers. I wan to express my most sincere gratitude for her contribution to this webpage.

Throughout his work, the author has had the great opportunity of working closely with Eduardo Pichilingue, a Peruvian man who has grown up in Ecuador. He is the coordinator of the Veeduría de los Pueblos Ocultos (Isolated People Working Group). This group has worked for years along with several other organizations in the creation of the Untouchable Zone inside the Yasuni National Park for the protection of the isolated peoples of the Ecuadorian Amazon. He has been working closely with the Waorani people for years.

Eduardo can be contacted for questions or comments related to the Untouchable Zone at his e-mail address: epicyasuni@yahoo.es

A Waorani woman with a golden heart. She was our guide in most of our excursions to the Waorani territory. Thanks to her we were able to enter in communities that otherwise would have been impossible to visit. Other times she got us out of trouble.

She is currently the President of the AMWAE (Amazon Waorani Women Association), an organization supporting the handicrafts of the Waorani women.

If somebody asked me who is my best friend in Spain my answer with no doubt would be Patricia. Born in Valladolid, I have known Patricia for years and can say she is one of the most wonderful people I have ever met. Not only is she the person that has helped me the most in the creation of this exhibition, but has also volunteered to watch over my personal belongings in Spain while I continue my research in Ecuador. She has done everything without asking for anything in return. She deserves all my gratitude and all the help I can give her anytime she needs it.

To get to know this marvelous person better I highly recommend you visit her webpage at the address: http://retorciendo.blogspot.com . Within her webpage she has written, I have to say, really interesting thoughts and reflections.

He and his family are some of the best Waorani I have ever met. Penti was our guide every time we visited his community. His knowledge about every aspect of the Waorani culture is exceptional. He is also a great hunter, as good with the blowgun as he is with a spear or riffle.

He is one of the Waorani most worried about the conservation of the Rainforest and of the Waorani territory and is always very busy due to his job as a tourist guide.

I also want to express my sincere gratitude to all the Waorani people that have contributed to this work. I hope all this work helps them to make good decisions about their future after a good reflection based on education.

Let’s hope they stop being used by the missionaries, oil companies, loggers and NGO’s that just use them for their own benefit and then abandon them without caring about the consequences.

Without this pure Ecuadorian girl this webpage would not have been the same. She is the person that has encouraged me to follow through with this project the most. Saskia has been there with strong ideas and good advice every time I have needed it. Everyday I learn something with her. Her love for all animals is unconditional. She is a great professional and an exceptional person, and I consider myself lucky for having come across her in my life.

Saskia has worked for 10 years with the Kichwa indigenous people of Oyacachi in the Ecuadorian Andes. She is currently working with the Achuar, Shiwiar and Zaparo indigenous people of the Amazon Rainforest.

Holly was born in Michigan (USA). While she was living in Puyo she was very happy to use some of her free time to help me with the translations of the texts in this webpage. It was a hard task and she never complained. She is a great person, always ready to laugh and willing to help. Thank you very much!!!