Meet the Amazon's Turtle Women bringing river turtles back
Indigenous Siekopai women in Ecuador, known as the 'Turtle Women,' are combining ancestral knowledge with modern technology to conserve river turtle populations. Their efforts include patrolling riverbanks and using data collection apps to protect hatchlings.
Why it matters
The project demonstrates how integrating traditional ecological knowledge with modern digital tools can effectively support grassroots conservation efforts.
Seven Indigenous Siekopai women in Ecuador’s Amazon are using ancestral knowledge, modern technology and community-led conservation to give vulnerable river turtles a better chance of survival. Known as the Tari Nomiowa’i, or “Turtle Women”, the group patrols the banks of the Aguarico River in search of charapa turtle nests, carefully collects eggs threatened by flooding, predators and human activity, and raises the hatchlings in protected conditions before returning them to the river. During the 2025-26 nesting season, the women collected 235 eggs and successfully hatched and released 208 young turtles into the Aguarico River in March and April 2026.
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