We created Together for Water💦: Kichwa Karanki Embroidery Crafts Auction with the help of the Kichwa Karanki people. They not only pledged to accompany our fight, contributing the embroidery to help raise funds for our cause, but also blessed our pre-release of our film with a ceremony in Ibarra, Ecuador on March 15th. This Auction is a powerful initiative that unites us in our mission to protect and defend our rivers. The support and collaboration from the Kichwa Karanki people has been instrumental in making this project a success, and we are grateful for their dedication to our cause.

You are only a bid away from not only owning a beautiful piece of handmade and embroidered piece of art, but also supporting a crucial cause. Join our fight for the right to water! Here we tell you a bit more about the Chocó and our intercultural struggle:

The Chocó is a rainforest that traverses the Pacific Coast from Panama to Ecuador. In the province of Esmeraldas, black and indigenous communities coexist. In 2010, we, the communities of La Chiquita and Guadalito, joined together to file the first constitutional-level lawsuit in the world against two oil palm companies for violating the Rights of Nature and of Living Well. Although we legally won our lawsuit, to this day, reparations have not been made, and our water continues to be contaminated.

The oil palm companies polluted our way of life. They polluted our water. They polluted our well-being. We have lost the quality of our food, and now we have to go to the city of San Lorenzo to buy what nature used to provide us. What we really need is our water.

We long for our river and ache with nostalgia. Something has rumbled within; something we had practically forgotten has been reborn—something we had lost.

We are young people. We are children; we are daughters and sons; we are sisters and brothers. We are Indigenous, and we are black. We are activists, we are world changers, we are leaders, we are survivors, and we are liberating these rivers. We are liberating ourselves for the lives of all beings in the province of Esmeraldas.

Join us to protect the rivers of the Chocó and the peoples’ right to water! And enjoy the beautiful art of the Karanki people! Place your bid now.

Together for Water 💦

By Roots & Routes IC

Together for Water 💦

Kichwa Karanki Embroidery Crafts

Team Members