We left our headquater in Lago Agrio for a six-hour drive through the seemingly endless, breathtakingly beautiful green hills before reaching the much cooler town Puyo. We spent the night there before setting off the next morning for Pitacocha, where our canoes and equipment were already waiting.

The next adventure began. We loaded our materials and equipment into the dugout canoes. Then we jumped in ourselves. The canoes were not even one meter wide, so we had to sit cross-legged in a row behind each other. I wondered how long the trip would take? My legs were already starting tingling.

As the Waorni people had already warned us, the water in the river was too low, the canoe ran aground several times and we had to push it again and again to continue. We realized how much the speed and smoothness of the trip depended on the amount of rain. The canoes can only glide unhindered when there is enough water in the rivers, but climate change is also shifting the rainy seasons in the Amazon. The rhythm of life of the Indigenous peoples is in harmony with the rhythm of nature, the rivers and the course of the day and year. I thought that the rivers are like our lives. When we fill our body, mind and soul with positive energy, our life is in flow, everything flows better and more smoothly.

Once my sense of balance had adapted to the challenge and we had to jump out of the dugout canoe several times to make it easier in the shallow water and scoop out water, I slowly got used to the rythem of the trip. Over the next eight hours, the beautiful landscapes along the Curaray River (Waorani for parrot) passed us by as if in a dream. This is how people here go about their daily lives. No roads, but this magical landscape that takes your breath away, surrounded by seemingly endless, lush vegetation. Far away from life in the city as we know it.

A Ceibo tree towering high above the jungle canopy showed us that we had reached Waorani territory. It marks the border between the homeland of the Quechua and that of the Waorani. We could already see the first communities on the banks of the river, but our destination, Nemonpare, was still a few bends downstream.

I was amazed at the resilience of these dugout canoes. The locals explained to us that they first cut down a tree, then hollow it out and work with the bark. They use an axe to give the canoe its shape. The canoe is then heated in burning leaves until all the moisture has escaped and it has become very light. They use “chuncho” and “cedro” trees. It takes four people about a month to make a canoe.

Finally, we reach Nemonpare. From the moment our feet set foot on the ground, we felt the magic of this special place. The people of Nemonpare welcomed us with endless warmth on the riverbank and handed us banana plants, which we gratefully received and ate straight away after the long journey.

Here we slept in the most beautiful of all bedrooms, a naturally built hut open to the outside with a protective palm roof. At the same time safe and yet not separated from surrounding nature. I really felt like I was lying in the middle of the immense embrace of the Amazon rainforest. The loud noises of the parrots in the trees, the rustling chickens, the sleeping dogs next to us, the stars looking down on us and all the other small and not so small creatures around us making the most beautiful noises - it was as if nature had sent us its best guardians to watch over our sleep.

Feeling the moonlight on my face, I lay awake and almost didn't want to fall asleep on those nights in Nemonpare. I was contemplating and absorbing this wonderful gift extended to us by Morther Earth. I felt deep gratitude flowing through me.

As the days passed, we could see how confident all the solar technicians had become, how skillfully and expertly they carried out each installation step, complementing each other's skills, true teamwork. Any worries we may have had at the beginning were gone.

After work, we went swimming every day, enjoying the deep orange light of the sunset on our bodies as we bathed in the river in the evening, mud mask included. So much beauty everywhere.

We also visited a waterfall near Nemonpare, for which we got into a canoe for about 20 minutes and then walked into the dense greenery under the jungle canopy. There was no path to be seen, just dense vegetation. But Opi, as we called our Waorani coordinator Oswaldo, cleared the way for us with his machete. Everything grows very quickly here and the paths disappear into the green again within just a few days.

Our excursion was accompanied by two young Waorani children, a boy and a girl. The little girl was barefoot, while we were in rubber and hiking boots. Barefoot didn't seem like an option to us. But she didn't seem to touch the ground covered in giant ants. She happily ran over them, not harming them nor being harmed by them. We were fascinated. After climbing a steep, slippery hill, we heard the sound of falling water and saw the fine mist creeping out of the thicket. We had reached our destination. Just seconds later, we were enjoying the most refreshing and energizing bath of our lives. Feeling the energy and power of the waterfall on our shoulders. We once again realized and confirmed the importance of the desire and constant struggle of peoples to protect and preserve places like this - treasures of their ancestors.

In Nemonpare we met Onguime and her husband Camilo, friendly, warm people. Onguime showed and taught us her craft with great enthusiasm. She took us on a little trip around the community to show us the plants, seeds and different leaves of the trees that she uses for her handicrafts, as medicine and as food. Nature provides everything.

As I passed her house, Camilo invited me to come in. In our conversation, he told me about his frustration with previous project ideas from other organizations that had promised great things but had never returned to the rainforest to make them a reality. He told me about people who wrote hundreds of pages about what needed to be done without involving the community, without listening to their needs and ideas. He was happy about the solar project, their self-formulated vision had become reality. They call projects like ours “lightening projects” because they don't take forever to implement. This conversation took place on the first evening that Nemonpare had light for the first time ever.

It was already dark, but Onguime was weaving a beautiful chambira bag, for the first time in her life in the glow of her solar-powered light. The children stood around her, her grandmother joined her, and of course her red parrot sat on the doorframe. It was as if the whole family wanted to celebrate together, in their own quiet way.

Weaving, Onguime began to sing. I asked Camilo if he could tell me what her words meant. He explained that she was singing about us, the people who have come from afar to support her and how grateful they are. Hearing that gratitude expressed in a song and watching her do what she loves was another gift that we were honored to receive at that moment.

Camilo explained to us that parts of the Waorani's territory are still untouched by the oil industry and that there is still plenty of food and animals for hunting and fishing. His biggest dream is to preserve his land as it is and to protect it from the companies, the settlers and their encroachments. At the end, he said how happy he was to have solar power and light now, previously there was only candlelight and buying candles was very expensive and time-consuming. They had to buy fuel to travel to the city by canoe for days (and we now know from our own experience what an effort this is), and in the city they needed accommodation and food. He was pleased that they no longer had to spend money and time on this.

At this point, seven new solar systems were already generating electricity in Nemonpare. It was time to travel to the last community. Thank you Nemonpare, you are forever in our hearts.

As the river was still not deep enough, we had two options: the canoe trip, which would take many hours due to the low water level and the many bends, or a several hour walk through the jungle. We opted for the latter. Who wouldn't jump at the chance to hike the Amazon rainforest, proven to be the most biodiverse region in the world? Was I ready? Not really, but I definitely wanted to give it a try...

Gaba from Nemonpare, one of the solar technicians, and his 12-year-old son Romel led us, although in the end Romel clearly took the lead. He was very fast, it was hard for me to keep up. I am still amazed at how they follow a path that is barely recognizable to me. I often find it difficult to orient myself what seemed an endless green vastness to me. I walked as fast as I could. When we came to a place where we were had to cross a stream, I, born in Costa Rica, felt like I was transported to the Caribbean beaches I knew from my home country. The yellow, sandy ground, the lush vegetation, the branches jutting into the water, a paradisiacal sight. As I dipped my face into the water, I felt the freshness and purity of this prestine place. My batteries recharged, I was ready to continue walking.

After several hours, we ducked through the dense bushes and trees one last time and reached a small open strip of green not far from Kiwaru. In front of us was a grass airstrip, carefully maintained by the community, the runway on which small propeller planes can land. We greeted the first families and were immediately offered “chicha”. After a while, we heard the canoe engines. Our bags and the rest of the tools and materials had arrived. We unloaded everything together with the members of the community and stowed it away in a house that normally is used for community meetings. We looked around for the ideal place to put up our mosquito nets and were ready to start work the next morning.

TThe nights in Kiwaru were fascinating with a breathtaking starry sky. I had been told that you could see the entire Milky Way from the equator. Looking up revealed the most magical and overwhelming night sky I have ever seen. As the stars gradually became visible, clouds slowly began to cover them, mist rose from the ground, the moon shone brightly, and the outlines of houses and mountains formed a mystical scenery. We witnessed this miracle with amazement. Later, Ignacio, one of the technicians, brought his guitar and we sang together in the light of the moon and stars, a moment we will remember forever.

After five days in Kiwaru, our first joint mission was also complete. The project trip came to an end with the installation of the last eight systems. Thanks to the joint efforts of the three organizations Love For Life, ClearWater and Alianza Ceibo, a total of 44 solar systems were installed in the Amazon region of Ecuador. We not only gained experience, but memories that will stay with us forever. We not only learned a lot about solar energy, but also about teamwork, about empowering each other and, above all, we learned humility and mutual respect for our differences and our shared needs.

It has been a long journey and a feeling of nostalgica arose. The five communities and their members had “stolen” a part of our hearts that would stay here forever. It was time to say goodbye which usually is very difficult for me. However, our new friends made it easy for us, some of the technicians were waiting for the small plane that would take us out of the community and before I could even hug them tightly, they were already on it. I remembered that they had told me that a Waorani who has to leave a place simply leaves. Another lesson of non-attachment I was offered to learn when it was time to say goodbye.