#picture-editing-caura

[ornibella]

1. The Canopy of the Caura rain forest

2. Romero Gonzalez, a young Ye'kuana, showed his hunting trophy: two black currasow, birds resembling wild turkeys.

3. Felicia, a Ye'kuana woman, used a vine poison to fish in one of the Caura's stream.

4. Yolanda Gonzalez, right, a Ye'juana woman, carried firewood from the communal garden, or conuco, to her house.

5. Emilio Rodriguez, a Ye'kuana leader from Edowinna, wove a basket at a camp along the Nichare River.

6. Mateo Gonzalez and Santiago Rodriguez, two Ye'kuana from Edowinna, learned about the birds of the Caura.

7. A Ye'kuana woman weaves together a traditional blanket in the hunt.

8. The remote Caura rain forest and savnna is one of  South America's last virtually pristine river basins.

I tried to capture the everyday scenes of the reality of just the Ye'kuana people living in the rain forest of Venezuela. Basic survival routines: hunting for food, making tools and gathering firewood. Both men and women have to participate and contribute to their tribe. I started and ended with scenes of the rain forest so viewers get a sense of the setting- its remoteness and the fact that their way of life has remained intact for so long.

[alexnitkin]

1. Members of the Ye'kuana and Sanema indigenous tribes are among the only people who inhabit the Caura River Basin in Southern Venezuela.

2. A Sanema family travels by "curiara" or dougout canoe. Nichare River, Caura Basin.

3. Woquilla and Ramon, two Sanemas from Edowiña discuss the species they observed during the field day in the forest. Using cards design for this project, a group of ornithologist and biologists lead by Ivan Samuels helps the Ye'kwanas and Sanemas support the NGO Caura Waichojo providing tools to consolidate and record their knowledge about the large bidr diversity in the Caura basin.

4. Conservation biologist Ivan Samuels discuss with a group of Ye'kwanas and Sanema from the Caura River about their findings of the day. Mr. Samuels, who is from San Francisco collaborates with the NGO Caura Waichojo providing tools to the locals to consolidate and record their knowledge about the large diversity birds in the basin.

5. Ornithologist Brian O'Shea records a singing bird with a group of Ye'kwanas and Sanema from the Caura River. Mr. O'Shea, who is from Lousiana collaborates with the NGO Caura Waichojo providing tools to the locals to consolidate and record their knowledge about the large diversity birds in the basin.

6. Woquilla, a Sanema from Edowiña sings a prayer while burns a clear cut area in the forest that will become the common garden for his Sanema-Ye'kwana community in the Nichare River. Caura Basin.

7. Ye'kwanas and Sanema burning a clear cut area in the forest that will become the common garden for the community of Edowiña, in the Nichare River. Cayra Basin.

8. Yolanda Gonzalez, a Ye'kwana woman from the village of Edowiña collects and carries firewood from the conuco (communal garden) to her house. Caura River Basin.

9. Felicia, a Ye'kwana woman from Edowiña in the Caura basin, smokes a  Pauji (Curassow) hunted by a man from her community.

I wanted to approach this story gradually and as a flowing narrative, so I thought it would make the most sense to start with a landscape shot that establishes the setting. From there I wanted to move into the inhabitants of the area and where how they fit into the scenery, which is why I followed it with the photo of the people in the canoe on the river. From there it seemed natural to introduce the population's interest in birds, and after that bring in the foreign biologists to show how they fit into the story. The photo of the fire was my surprise element, abruptly following all the beautiful greenery with what looks like total desolation. To wind down from that I included some other photos that hopefully illustrate why and how they're clearing away the forest. I ended with something that I felt both conveyed a sense of forward motion and zoomed back out a bit to remind you of the setting.

[wgarofalo]

1. The indiginous people of the remote Caura forest in southern Venezuela, the Ye'kwana and the Sanema, live simply and traditionally as shown here by a young Sanema girl painting her face in traditional patterns.

2. The Caura forest spans a section of land larger than Belgium, however it is home to only 3,500 residents between the Ye'kwana and the Sanema.

3. Romero Gonzales, a young Ye'kwana tribesman, spends his days hunting as the tribe relies on hunting to survive and preserve their way of life.

4. Hunting culture within the Ye'kwana tribe is not limited to men though.  Felicia Rodriguez, a Ye'kwana tribeswoman, uses the barbasco fishing technique to provide food for the village as well.

5. While both tribes of the Caura forest rely heavily on hunting, they also see great value in celebrating and preserving the untouched nature around them.  The Caura Weichojo project, an NGO outside of Edowinña, works with tribesmen to record and catalog the songs of hundreds of birds to teach the tribe children about the importance and riches of wildlife in their forest.

6. The Caura tribes' way of life has been increasingly dwindling, as they face large problems with illicit bush-meat trade, incursions by gold miners, and the government's resistance to requests by the Caura's forest dwellers that they be given great administrative control over their land.  Pictured is a dealer of illicit bush-meat that had been killed in the forest by poachers.

7. Due to outsider interference and opportunities provided by the Venezuelan government, the Ye'kwana and Sanema way of life may be dwindling as many assimilate and leave their homes in search of better conditions. "We want money to buy things," said Silverio Flores, 49, who moved to Maripa, a town six hours away from Edowinña.  "If we join the mission," referring to Hugo Chavez's social welfare programs, "maybe we'll get a monthly payment of some kind."

8. But many of the Ye'kwana and Sanema are fighting together now to keep their traditions and preserve their way of life.  Pictured is Woquilla, a Sanema, who is singing a prayer while burning a clear that will become a common garden for his Sanema-Ye-kwana community in the Nichare River.