For the Waiapi tribe, the Amazon jungle is their hypermarket

The Waiapi tribe want to maintain their Amazon jungle homes as miners want to intrude. – Photos: AFP

When  Japarupi Waiapi looks into the dense foliage of the Amazon rainforest, he sees the equivalent of a supermarket, pharmacy, furniture store, etc all rolled into one. And that’s just the beginning.

Food like coconuts, roots and bananas grows plentifully. Animals and fish are readily available for hunting, and the barks of many trees have medicinal uses.