Five Waorani students are racing to document their ancestors' knowledge before the last of their elders disappear. With it, they will build an encyclopedia about their way of life and their forest to teach future Waorani generations and the world.

 

Within the next 18 months, the Ecuadorian government must reach a decision that will determine the fate of the most biologically diverse place on the planet and one of the last remaining Amazonian tribes, the Waorani. Either the government receives $300 million from international donors, or they will begin drilling over 846 million barrels of oil from an untapped block of Yasuní National Park. Though monumental, this threat is nothing new to the indigenous people of this area. With poor resources for education, and a process of assimilation that has increasingly separated them from their traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle, it has been difficult for the Waorani to defend their biologically rich territory from the massive incursion of industry.

 

Determined to take matters into their own hands, they formulated a unique strategy that melds tradition with science, and old knowledge with new technology. With it, they are determined to prove to the outside world the ecological value of their homeland, and the importance of preserving their culture, which played a vital role in defending their homeland for thousands of years. The basic idea is simple: record traditional knowledge of their forest and culture. The execution, however, is titanic. In order to compile this disappearing information, the Waorani students must locate and consult the last living elders, who are spread across a remote rainforest territory larger than the state of New Jersey. Once gathered, they will build a multi-media guide to educate their government and the outside world about the ecological importance of their homeland and their presence within it. With this new understanding, they hope to save this ecological Eden from development and devastation.

 

In this feature length documentary, we accompany the students on their journey, and document their efforts to educate the world. With our footage and the photos, videos, and information the students themselves gather, we will tell an intimate story of a small tribe's attempt to divert a monumental crisis.