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The dispossession of land has never been a peaceful act. From extractive mining to hydrocarbon and agro-industrial projects, the legacy of conquest poses an immediate threat to Indigenous communities in Ecuador.
As a 2024 CatchLight Global Fellow, Johanna Alarcón is developing an educational storytelling program with Ecuadorian Amazonian women land defenders as they protect over eight million hectares of rainforest. Her project will include a multimedia photo essay documenting conservation efforts in the region from the spiritual, cultural, and political perspectives of the new generations of Ai Cofàn, Waorani, and Siekopai women.
Below is a collection of photographs by Alarcón, each reflecting the care she takes to represent these women through a collaborative, community-centered creative process.
Gricelda Pupiales, 30 years old, poses for a portrait during her visit to the “Rinconada” waterfall. She is a Karanki woman guardian of the water. She takes weekly walks for garbage collection, fire prevention, and surveillance to take care of the moor and the sources of water found in the mountains. August 14, 2020. Rinconada, Imbabura-Ecuador. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global Maria Tapuy, a midwife with AMUPAKIN, the Association of Kichwa Women Midwives of the Upper Napo, massages the belly of Violeta Tapuy (32) to accommodate the baby’s position. Tapuy is expecting her sixth childbirth. Like most Amazonian indigenous women, she lives in a community far from the city. She assures that babies die on the way to the hospital before they are born. August 2022. Archidona, Ecuador. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global Lizet Tuquerres, a 15-year-old Karanki woman, takes a bath in “Las tres cascadas” on the morning of August 13, 2020. Imbabura-Ecuador. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global Pumpkins dry on the roof during the cloudy afternoon of August 14, 2020. Chirihuasi, Ibarra- Ecuador. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global Red algae are growing in the paramo lagoon in the territory of some Karanki indigenous communities. October 2, 2020. Magdalena, Ibarra-Ecuador. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global YouTube videos with traditional music from the Karanki people are playing in the room of Lizeth, a 15-year-old indigenous woman who wakes up every morning singing this playlist. October 11, 2020. Chirihuasi, Ibarra- Ecuador. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global Gricelda Pupiales, 30 years old, fertilizes her farm with corn plants on the afternoon of August 14, 2020. Chirihuasi, Imbabura-Ecuador. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global Lourdes Molina’s sister chats on her cell phone while she fixes the clothes in her room on the night of October 10, 2020. Magdalena, Ecuador. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global Karanqui´s women walk together in the moors of their community on the night of August 13, 2020. Since March, the indigenous communities have closed the door to outsiders to prevent COVID-19 infections, but they continue their conservation work in the moors. The coexistence of women makes this a living space, where the protection of nature and their identity strengthens them together. The impact of COVID-19 highlighted human fragility in the face of nature. Chirihausi, Imbabura-Ecuador More than 40% of the Napo River is home to Amazonian indigenous communities such as the Cofán, Siona-Secoya, Waorani, Zapara and Kichwas. Sixty-five percent of indigenous women in this region give birth at home, attended by midwives who are respected in their communities but have a complex integration with the state health system. The Ecuador constitution recognizes and guarantees traditional health systems since 2008, but in daily practice, two worlds with very different cultures, experiences, and perceptions confront each other between Western medicine and traditional midwifery. August 2022. Tena, Ecuador. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global Olga Chungo and Ofelia Salazar, AMUPAKIN midwives, conduct a community prenatal check-up visits to pregnant women in the Kichwa Amazonian Sinchiwarmi community. Comprehensive intercultural maternal health care includes prenatal care, delivery, and postpartum. The midwives apply natural oils, give massages, and position the babies for birth. They also identify illnesses such as high blood pressure and anemia in the mothers and recommend treatments with the natural medicine that they provide. The check-ups are performed in the women’s homes, however, visiting these communities can be difficult for the elder midwives because of their advanced age and limited mobility resources. August 2022. Napo, Ecuador. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global Mural of Amazonian women midwives at the AMAPUKIN traditional midwifery hospital. At its peak, this organization had more than 80 Amazonian midwives in Napo. At the moment, eight women support the association and share traditional knowledge with new generations. Archidona, Ecuador. August 2022. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global Olga Chungo, an Amazonian midwife and member of AMAPUKIN, prepares guayusa, an Amazonian medicinal plant, in the kitchen of her home while waiting for a patient who will visit her for a prenatal check-up. “For me, being a midwife means taking care of pregnant mothers and knowing about medicinal plants for childbirth and prenatal control to give life,” says Olga. August 2022. Archidona, Ecuador. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global A butterfly on the window of the AMAPUKIN midwifery hospital. Nature surrounds the midwives’ hospital, providing a safe and peaceful environment for those who decide to give birth with traditional medicine. Midwives care for and lull the newborn with songs in Kichwa and treat the mother with medicinal plants until she recovers. August 2022. Archidona, Ecuador. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global Ofelia Salazar, midwife and Amazonian Kichwa woman leader of AMAPUKIN, poses for a portrait in the medicinal plant garden of the midwives’ hospital. They grow the plants and care for their medicinal garden, following the knowledge of their ancestors. Ofelia learned traditional medicine from her mother. Her challenge is to ensure the intergenerational transmission of her culture and knowledge by incorporating new generations. August 2022. Archidona, Ecuador. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global Caldo de gallo with yucca is a natural food prepared by midwives after childbirth. The warmth of this food helps the woman’s stability after giving birth and strengthens her body and spirit. The animals are raised organically by the midwives, and their preparation is accompanied by plants harvested from the medicinal garden. August 2022. Archidona, Ecuador. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global Edith Yumbo (34) waits for prenatal care from the midwife at her home in the community of Santa Rita. She is six months pregnant with her fifth baby. Edith has never had a medical check-up because of the distance from her community and the mobilization resources involved in going to the hospital. The community visits made by the midwives free of charge are fundamental for the maternal health of indigenous women in the region. Holistic health in the indigenous cosmovision must integrate care of the body and protection of the spirit to prevent emotional risks for moms. August 2022. Archidona, Ecuador. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global Lourdes Molina (27), a Karanki indigenous woman, relaxes on a rock above the Rinconada river, her favorite place where she goes in the afternoons to breathe and sing. October 10, 2020. Magdalena, Ibarra-Ecuador. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global Maria Shiguango, an Amazonian midwife and member of AMAPUKIN, heads to the midwifery hospital kitchen to prepare food for one of her patients. The midwives work full two-days at the hospital to attend to the medicinal garden, patient care, medicine preparation, and natural treatments for the women. August 2022. Archidona, Ecuador. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global Women of the Sinangoe guard, first approach. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global Women of the Sinangoe guard, first approach. © Johanna Alarcón / CatchLight Global
Johanna Alarcón
Johanna Alarcón (CatchLight Global Fellow, 2024) is a freelance photojournalist and visual storyteller based in Ecuador whose work is focused on social justice, human rights, identity, and gender-related issues. She has received awards and honors from World Press Photo, National Geographic, Magnum Foundation, among other prominent institutions in the field of photography. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, Smithsonian Magazine, National Geographic, The Wall Street Journal, The Guardian, and many other publications, and her work has been exhibited worldwide.
