Welcome to the Pilon Lajas Indigenous Reserve

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The Pilon Lajas Indigenous Reserve is  the Beni River on the west and The western boundaries of Private land along Highway 16.

The handmade boats are about 30 feet long and powered by single cylinder 16 horsepower motors.

During the dry season the boat must be dragged through the shallow riffles. The blue barrel is for gasoline.  All supplies must be brought from town. 

The rivers are heavily polluted by raw sewage from cities upstream from the Indigenous Reserve, dredging for gold and  logging operations. 

This young lady is threshing rice by pounding it the huge wooden bowl called a Chaco. The chaco is handmade from a chunk of a tree trunk. Most of the utensils used by the comunarios are handmade of wood.

Census data shows that over fifty percent of the babies born in this region die before they are seven years old. It saddens me each time I go to visit to wonder which of the kids are no longer alive.