The Amazon Pueblo project help indigenous villages in the Colombian Amazon to improve their standard of living through sustainable business. We are an all-volunteer program. We welcome new volunteers.

2. Mission
The mission of Amazon Pueblo is to
reduce the poverty of indigenous peoples
of the Colombia Amazon by developing
sustainable business, through
connections of people, sound
environmental practices, and profitable
ventures.

3. Where does Amazon Pueblo work?

5. Early History
The people of La Libertad originally came from a community
called Maloka, which was established by the drug trafficker
from Florida, Mike Tsalickis. The villagers escaped from the
exploitation, drug, and alcohol abuse in Maloka (and Isla de los
Micos –Monkey Island) to found La Libertad.

6. Mingen, the man
pictured, is one of
the original member
of the village who
fled from Maloka and
Monkey Island in the
early 1990s.

7. La Libertad, Amazonas, Colombia
Population 388

8. The village children waiting for breakfast in their house.

9. The village school during recess.

10. Hector is getting ready
to do his school
homework.
Considering how much
silt and sediment is in
the water that they use
to wash clothing, it is
remarkable how white
the children's uniforms
are.

11. Fish is one of their
main sources of
protein. Other
staples of their diet
include plantain and
yuca (cassava).

12. This is an area of cultivation called a chagra. Each family owns and tends
2 to 3 chagras. They are each roughly 100 square meters in size.

13. About 90% of all families cook on open fires. The other 10%
cook on a combination of fires and propane stoves.

14. The smoke for the cooking fires is often present and causes health problems.

15. The women wash all dishes and clothing in the river.

16. All water in the village, including the rain water storage tanks, has tested positively for fecal
coliform bacteria. Only 4 houses in the village have toilets. The rest of the habitants practice
open defecation, usually within 30 feet of their houses.

17. The villagers make handcrafts when they are not fishing, farming, or doing other
activities of daily living.

18. At times snakes or
dangerous insects
come too close to
their houses. They
must kill the
creatures to
protect
themselves.

19. During the hours of 10 am to 12 noon, and 3 pm to 9 pm, the village
frequently has electrical power supplied by an electrical generator.

20. During some nights there is no power. The people will usually eat
dinner by candle light, talk of the days activities, and tell stories.

21. This picture shows a satellite view of the village. It consist of 45 houses,
two small school buildings, a meeting building, and two small churches.
Neither of the churches has permanent pastors or clergy.

22. How is the project trying to help the
villagers?
Healthcare
Education
Business
Development

23. Healthcare
100% of the villagers have intestinal parasites. The parasites most negatively
affect the children, old people, and people in poor health.

24. Bathrooms and drinkable
water are two of the
priorities of the project.
This supports our goal of
sustainable business –
people who are unhealthy
have a much more difficult
time being self-sufficient
and engaging in
sustainable business.

25. This is an example of one
of the first bathrooms
found in the village.

26. At times we supply over-the-counter medications, supplies,
and healthcare advice to the villagers.

27. During the past 4 years we have had over 20 volunteers visit the village to provide help. Our
volunteers have included dentists, nurses, teachers, engineers, skilled and unskilled laborers,
and students.

28. Education
The children are the future. The upcoming generation will be the most educated yet.
However, it sometimes difficult for the children to pay for school, maintain their grades, and
to continue studying past fifth grade (at which point they must be “bussed” in a boat to a
village one hour away). We teach basic English when English-speaking volunteers are
present, art, music, or other subjects. We also support select students with small
scholarships that help them to afford school.

29. Business/Infrastructure
Development
Years of not investing money into the infrastructure of the village has
left the people with poor access to the village entrance, little or no
proper sanitation, contaminated water, high erosion of land, and a
lack of many basic services.
We want to help them to improve the village. The village needs a
certain level of infrastructure to have successful, sustainable
business. We want the people to be able to provide for themselves.

30. The village raft is one of the most successful projects that Amazon Pueblo, the
people of the village, and the Colombian government made in collaboration.

31. We also work in collaboration with the villagers to
bring safe electrical power to one-third of the village.

32. Members of the Association of Farmers, Fishermen, and Craftsmen of La
Libertad. This cooperative organization was formed and is advised
through the help of Amazon Pueblo.

33. What we did 2015 - 2016
In this picture the villagers are starting construction on the concrete steps
leading to the village.

34. A post hole. There is a lot of clay.

35. The forms are created to
pour the concrete. The
work to do this was all
volunteer-based. We had
one worker from
Switzerland (thanks
Stephan!) and 2 to 5
workers from the villagers.
Amazon Pueblo and the
government of the Amazon
supplied the building
materials.

36. These volunteers are mixing concrete to place in the
forms. The days are hot and humid.

37. The concrete is
reinforced with steel
bars. The steps must
be strong enough to
withstand heavy use
and repeated
submersion in times
of high flood water.

38. The kids are testing out the stairs.

39. The finished stairs. We
started building them
towards the end of the dry
season. Three weeks after
this picture all of the stairs
were underwater with the
exception of the top two!

40. Yuca
Pictured here are Stephan (Swiss volunteer) and Yalile. Stephan did much of
the work on the stairs. In this picture they are processing yuca to make chichi,
a traditional beverage used during celebrations.
Farina, also made from yuca, is a high-protein staple of the indigenous diet.
Amazon Pueblo is trying to help them mechanize the process. This will allow
them to produce a better quality, less labor intensive product.

41. This is a huge pan placed over a wood-fueled fire. It is used to toast
the yuca, turning it into farina. The yuca must be stirred for hours
before it is ready.

42. Each year the project sponsors Christmas dinner for the village
children. We have chicken stew, rice, cookies, and soda.

43. The village raft at the end of the dry season.

44. After the loss of two children to drowning in 2014-2015 the project raised funds to buy 20
adult life preservers and 10 child life preservers. We loan them library-fashion when needed.

45. The village raft is an ongoing project. It needs constant maintenance and
upgrades.

46. We hope to have a village store located on the balsa by 2017. It would be rented by
one family and used to selling food, handcrafts, gasoline, and other in-demand items.

47. Ben Angulo, Amazon Pueblo’s director, is inside of the room which will be used for the
village store.

48. All wood used in the village is cut and milled only by chainsaw.

49. Oscar is hanging the
door on the village raft.
This will be the entrance
to the store. Above the
reclined boy will be a
large window through
which items will be
purchased.

50. Painting the raft. Bright colors are always popular.

51. The raft is used for fishing, washing clothing, swimming, entering/leaving
the village, and just for passing the time while watching the river.

52. Volunteers are preparing beef stew for the 22nd anniversary of the village. They prepare
food for all attending, over 500 people from the surrounding communities.

54. Balloons for the big event!

55. Chicha, a fermented yuca beverage, is available for all.

56. Teams from the surrounding communities participate in a championship game of micro-
soccer. Over 100 people competed.

57. The villagers dance into the early hours of the morning. The dancehall is called a Maloka.
It is the largest structure in the community. It is made from trees and has a thatched roof.
It is used also for meetings. It can hold over 400 people.

58. We also advocate for the village
in Bogota. We meet with other
organizations, both
governmental and non-
governmental, to tell them of
our programs and to seek
assistance.
This picture is of an anti-
corruption protest that
corresponded with my visit to
the city.

59. Project Associates
NationalTraining
Service
Cacao Growers
Association from
WesternAmazon
Office of International Relations
and Secretary of Agriculture
Business Alliance to
Transform the Region
Chamber of
Commerce of the
Amazon
Amazon Institute of
Scientific Research
Corporation for
Sustainable Development
Association of Farmers, Fishermen,
and Artisans of the Community of
La Libertad
FundacionAmazon Pueblo
NationalCacao
Growers Federation
These are some of the organizations that we have met and with whom we are
trying to work.

60. A meeting at the Leticia Chamber of Commerce. We discussed ways to bring
cacao to the Amazon.

61. This cacao tree is in the
village of San Francisco. It
is located in a plantation 2
hours upriver from La
Libertad.
This cacao plantation is an
example of the industry
that we want to start in La
Libertad.

62. Alex, a volunteer from the USA, is helping two volunteers from the village. They are
building a compost bin to be used for a community vegetable garden.

63. The vegetable garden will supply the school lunch program with nutrients that they do not
currently receive. Any surplus vegetable may be sold to help support other school programs.

64. These raised beds will eventually be filled with compost to create growing soil.

65. Amazon Pueblo’s newest program helps the most promising students, whose parents are
facing economic difficulties, to attend school. We help to find sponsors for 4 boys and 4
girls. For $100US we can buy uniforms, shoes, books, and school supplies that are needed
to start the year. The girl in this picture is one of the teacher-nominated students.

66. This girl has also been nominated by her teachers. When she is older she wants to
become a teacher and return to the village.

67. This boy, also a nominee, wants to become the best police officer in the Amazon
when he is older.

68. Problem -poverty
• The indigenous village of La Libertad has an
unemployment or underemployment rate of 90%
• Average income per villager is less than $1.90
USD/day, the World Bank’s definition of extreme
poverty
• The villagers suffer from malnutrition, poor
sanitation conditions, contaminated water, poor
health
Local Governmental Solution -giving things
• Small amount of public assistance (welfare) and gifts
• Monthly or bimonthly village visits from health or
social workers
• Healthcare services that are difficult and expensive
for the villagers to access (35 kilometers downriver)
• Village education until 5th grade

69. Our solution: Sustainable business to reduce poverty. The people will learn
to help themselves with our assistance towards sustainable development.

70. To learn more or to help with our efforts please
visit:
www.amazonpueblo.org