PEOPLE LIVING ON THE LAS PIEDRAS RIVER
The native people living in the Las Pidras rainforest are Piro Indians. The Piros are pre-dominantly fishermen, their staple diet being fish and manioc which they grow by their riverine settlements. The Piros have always been traders, hosting annual trading fairs firstly with the Incas and then the Spanish. Consequently the Piros are great river-navigators, and have travelled extensively on the rivers by canoe. Piro is their language, but the Piros would have previously spoken Quechua, Machiguenga, Amahuaca, Spanish and even Portuguese. The Piros are famous for their detailed textile and earthenware handicrafts. They grow their own cotton, spin it and weave it with their geometrical designs; most impressive are their cushmas (traditional robes).
The rainforest accessible from the Las Piedras river is largely unpopulated, and the native people live in small communities by the riverside which affords their main means of transport, for example about 80km up the Las Piedras river you can find the Tipishca community of Piro indians, made up of 6 families and more than 24 inhabitants. The community was established in 2004, by a small group of Piros travelling over the watershed from the populated Sepuhua River to the north, a voyage of over 400km (250miles). All community members speak Piro as well as Spanish and are very proud of their Piro culture, a very important part of their lives.
Tipishca Community now aims to establish a small primary school; the teacher will be a native Piro and will teach in Piro as well as Spanish; the children will also learn to make their traditional handicrafts.
In addition to the native indians there are other people living in the area, mainly families originating from the nearest town, Puerto Maldonado, arriving in quest of land for subsistance farming. As the river is the main access to the forest, these small farms have spread along the river edge, most being concentrated on the more accessable lower river, which is closer to the town. We travel past these areas on our way to the eco-lodges Tipishca and ARCC.