Guardians Of Pachamama: Meet The Maltese Woman Personally Documenting Ecuadorian Tribes
When Mariah bought a one-way ticket to Ecuador, she had no idea that things would fall into place the way they did.
From meeting with indigenous tribes experiencing daily threats to their livelihood to launching a documentary to educate the world on the importance of safeguarding their forests and rivers, Mariah’s wonderful and eyeopening journey is just beginning.
“I remember back in January, when I left Heartspace (a brand that supports indigenous communities) in Malta, I felt so alone, and now I’m surrounded by five people that are so passionate and willing to be part of this documentary,” she said.
Lovin Malta spoke to Mariah while she is residing in Ecuador to discuss her inspirational story and the fundraiser that has been launched for the upcoming documentary detailing the indigenous tribes’ stories.
Mariah in Ecuador, Founder of Heartspace
Where did it all begin?
For those that know her in Malta, Mariah is a local artisan that creates handmade Maltese incense, under the brand that she founded herself, Heartspace.
“My passion for creating products started three years ago; however little did I know how much a product and the spiritual market can affect one’s culture,” Mariah told Lovin Malta.
“So when I had the realisation that I might be part of appropriating cultures, I invested and took out time to study and research the background of my product,” she said.
“That’s where I started my other passion; cultures – in my own interest, I have studied America’s spiritual practices and their history.”
“But one part of the world that truly shocks me is South America. To this day in 2022, indigenous communities are being scammed, killed and removed from their own land,” she explained.
“This is where I found my purpose. I thought I’m already in this, why not go further and actually do something to help out?”
Mariah together with one of the tribe members
A one-way ticket to Ecuador.
“I lived in a hostel in Malta for an entire month, to expose myself to different people, the environment and language. I have made two really close friends from the hostel. One of them is now doing the documentary with me, and this happened last October,” she said.
“This is where I met Jacob Watson, who is one of our team members, where I expressed to him that I wanted to do a documentary, six months ago,” she explained, expressing that she would not have met him if not.
“Then, I flew directly to the source, Ecuador. Got a one-way ticket,” she said.
“It’s a beautiful country, heavily exploited, unfortunately.”
“Three months after exploring Ecuador, and adapting to my new surroundings, I went to a hairdresser and got my hands on the contact of a person called Teo, who is the main character of the documentary,” she explained.
“Jacob messaged me a few days after expressing that he’s on his way to Ecuador alongside his friend Eleonor to do the documentary with me. I was in absolute excitement and bliss!”
“All of this happened, in just a span of three days. This is one lesson I learnt here from a special person, Juan, is to trust, trust that things will fall into place, things that you dream of do come true,” she expressed.
The full team behind the Guardians of Pachamama documentary
The documentary: Guardians of Pachamama.
As we speak, Mariah is currently working on the documentary set to educate the world on these unsustainable practices: Guardians of Pachamama.
“The documentary, called ‘The Guardians of Pachamama’, means the ones that protect our earth. The ones are not only the indigenous people, but it’s the river, the animals, the trees, the wind, the sky, the sun and the moon. These are all guardians that we need to start seeing as allies instead of enemies,” she explained.
“The main intention of this documentary is education. When I asked around especially Kichwa communities, they have expressed that the lack of education is what makes indigenous people sell their land to billion-dollar companies for little money and these companies are also destroying the forest and river.”
“In this documentary, we want to educate the rest of the world and also the indigenous people themselves about how important they are, to us and the environment.”
“They protect 80% of the biodiversity left in the world. We will also have exclusive interviews with indigenous people that work with these companies and what they experienced with them,” she said.
“We will go to the closest city to the Yasuni national park which is called the city of oil companies. And finally, we will be living with the Waorani tribe, the last contacted tribe in the Amazon, and we will ask them for their opinions and do what they want to do,” she explained.
In the meantime, they will be completely living off-the-grid, hunting for their food and living in the middle of the jungle.
“This is about awareness and education, people know little about these tribes and how every single day they are replanting; giving back life to earth. We hope that some people especially important figures start taking action against these companies. Not only they are putting their identity at risk, but also the environment,” she emphasised.
Tribe members in Ecuador
And they need your help!
Mariah, on behalf of the documentary team, has just launched a fundraising platform for people to donate and in turn be contributing to this amazing new project. Donations are being accepted on this page.
“We need support from people in Malta and the rest of the world to make this documentary successful. This is not a profitable project, all the funds are going to the indigenous people themselves who are helping us make this trip and the interviews,” she explained.
“We are also going to be purchasing stationery and toys for the Waorani and Kichwa children in the hope to inspire them.”
“I recommend everyone learns about these tribes and their importance. To realise that they take care of the earth’s lungs – if the forest is gone, we are gone.”
Check out the trailer for the documentary here:
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