AYELE at the Amazon Women’s Assembly | Pastaza, Ecuador
Author
Janne Bierwirth
Date Published
We had the honor of participating in the Assembly of this Ancestral Community
It was a long and deeply meaningful day, during which we were able to closely accompany the work, organization, and commitment that sustain this important space.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Elvia Dagua Guatatuca for the invitation and for the trust placed in AYELE.
Her dedication, leadership, and clarity in advancing these processes are truly inspiring and demonstrate the impact of committed guidance.
For us, it was a privilege to witness the collective effort, the contributions of the participants, and the strength that emerges when so many voices come together.
Speech by Elvia Dagua Guatatuca
The work of these women is directly connected to the defense of their territory and water.
In April 2026, Elvia Dagua and Clemencia Santi represented Kaparik Warmi at the Amazonian Rivers Forum, specifically in a panel on experiences of territorial and river defense. There, they presented the work of the Women’s Training School in defense of the Puyu Yaku.
Elvia reaffirms the fundamental role of women in the defense of territory, water, and life itself.
Powerful and memory-filled intervention
Her words remind us that protecting Sumak Kawsay, Pachamama, and Yaku Mama is not only a political struggle, but also a spiritual and cultural one.
With clarity, she denounces how Indigenous peoples are often exoticized as “folklore,” while their real struggles for self-determination and the protection of their territories remain invisible. Elvia asserts the dignity, identity, and right of her community to exist without being reduced to a decorative presence in official events.
Her call is a collective cry to men, women, children, and youth, to stand firm, take to the streets, and continue defending their land, their rivers, their language, and the future of the generations to come.
A powerful reminder that resistance is an act of love for the Earth and for life itself.
In 2026, the defense of the Puyo River became a legal action.
The San Jacinto del Pindo Commune and PAKKIRU filed a constitutional protection action in response to the contamination of the Puyo River basin. In March, more than 12 communities from San Jacinto mobilized in support of the action. They denounced contamination from wastewater and the presence of microplastics in fish from the river.
Projects of the Kapari Warmi School
The Kaparik Warmi Leadership School “Women Who Raise Their Voices” was founded in May 2025 in response to the need for the active participation of women from the 39 communities of the Ancestral Commune of San Jacinto del Pindo. Its aim is to strengthen the leadership, empowerment, training, and participation of Amazonian women.
Kaparik Warmi students presented four projects aimed at offering solutions and improving the well-being of their communities.
- Sessions focused on training and knowledge exchange aimed at strengthening skills and capacities and leadership.
- A segment dedicated to education and the transmission of ancestral knowledge that strengthens our collective identity.
The assembly included cultural presentations highlighting the importance of art and expression within community processes.
The strength of multiple generations coming together created a space of inspiration and unity.
Community gardens offer diversity and life:
fresh foods that nourish both the body and the land.
Each dish comes from the forest and the ancestral knowledge of the community’s women:
The women of San Jacinto del Pindo are not simply protecting a territory inherited from their ancestors. They are shaping the future of that territory.
As the voices of women continue to rise, from the community assemblies to the banks of the Puyo River, another generation is learning that defending life is not someone else’s responsibility.
It is theirs.
And it is ours to listen.
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