Description

• Take care of the earth. We have grandsons and great-great-grandsons, and we have to, we, our generation, has to teach the young people what we lived, the beauty of the world that we lived, not the disaster we have today.

Hello conscient podcast listeners,

Many of us do international travel, probably a bit too much. 

When I travel, I consider it a privilege that comes with responsibilities. 

For example, whenever we can we try to give back by donating to local charities in the region where I’m visiting or maybe making sure that we tip appropriately and that the people we am with get a fare wage. We also try to by buy credible carbon offsets. That kind of thing. 

You might recall e235 lallan – art from the soil, which I recorded while in the Tirthan Valley in Northern India :

• My advice to artists would be drop every garb that you have, drop every piece of knowledge that you think you have. Head to the jungles, head to the rural places. We are living in a time of crisis.

You might also recall e236 keiko torigoe – the power of listening, which was recorded in Tokyo, Japan:  

• The environmental issues currently at hand, including global warming, are related, but I believe that at their root lies the decline of our listening ability and the power of listening as humanity.

Both episodes were recorded quite spontaneously on my iphone. I hadn’t planned to record these interviews, but as I listened to some of the stories around me and I thought it could be a gesture of reciprocity to make these voices available on this podcast to help raise awareness about activities in that country but also to point out commonalities between us all in the world. 

So, what you’re about to hear is my third conversation in this series, this time with Francisco Rodriguez, a Chilean born banker, who with his wife Sylvia, manage the Anaconda Lodge on the shores of the Napo River near Tena, in Ecuador, where my wife Sabrina and daughter Clara were doing some eco-tourism. 

So we had the pleasure of staying there and meeting Francisco and others from the region. 

I sat down with Francisco – you’ll hear some birds and insects in the background - about his relationship with the Amazon forest as a living entity as well as their collaborations with the Kichwa indigenous people who are the traditional custodians of these lands and waters. 

You’ll hear some beautiful sounds and good stories about the Amazon, which I found uplifting but you’ll also hear about some of the very serious challenges that they currently face, which call upon increased solidarity from the rest of the world, given that the Amazon is the lung of the earth. 

You’ll notice this episode is a bit more than 15 minutes. I added some soundscapes that makes it a bit longer than usual, which I hope you’ll enjoy.

Warm thanks Francisco, Sylvia, all the guides and staff at Anaconda Lodge for their kindness and hospitality. 

Episodes notes generated by Whisper Transcribe AI

Key Takeaways:

• Support Indigenous communities by living alongside them and understanding their challenges, rather than offering temporary aid.
• Learn about the Amazon’s diverse cultures and ecological fragility through reading and authentic resources.
• Reduce your carbon footprint by making small, conscious changes in daily habits to support global environmental efforts.
• Recognize the Amazon as a single, interconnected entity, not divided by national borders, but by Indigenous territories.
• Understand the impact of Western influences, such as processed food and consumer goods, on uncontacted tribes and their traditional way of life.

Story Preview

Discover the journey of Francisco Rodriguez, who left the banking world to dedicate his life to protecting the Amazon and working its Indigenous peoples. Hear how he and his wife Sylvia created Anaconda Lodge as a bridge between cultures, fostering understanding and solidarity for the ‘lung of Mother Earth.’ 

Chapter Summary

00:00 Introduction to Amazon and Indigenous Voices
02:44 From Banker to Amazon Advocate
05:50 Living with Indigenous Communities
09:58 Ecotourism and Amazonian Consciousness
14:25 Understanding the Amazon from Afar
20:00 Sustainable Living and Jungle Communication

Featured Quotes

• We always hope that when they go back home, they use less fossil fuel.
• You have to think one thing, these people have been beating up by our, by we Western people for over 500 years.
• Our main goal is to make our guests to understand where they are.

Behind the Story

Claude  shares his third recording from international travel, this time from the Anaconda Lodge near Tena, in Ecuador. He, his wife Sabrina, and daughter Clara experienced ecotourism firsthand which led to this conversation with Francisco Rodriguez. The episode highlights the value of reciprocity when traveling and making voices from different regions accessible to a global audience.

*

END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES

Hey conscient listeners, 

I’ve been producing the conscient podcast as a learning and unlearning journey since May 2020 on un-ceded Anishinaabe Algonquin territory (Ottawa). 

It’s my way to give back.

In parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and its francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I Ipublish a free ‘a calm presence' monthly Substack see https://acalmpresence.substack.com.

Your feedback is always welcome at claude@conscient.ca and/or on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Threads,BlueSky, Mastodon, Tik Tok, YouTube andSubstack.

Share what you like, etc

I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible. 

Claude Schryer

Latest update on December 5, 2025