JARDIN DE LA PASSERELLE
In this series produced in 2020, Florence Goupil documents the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the peoples of the Amazon. The indigenous Shipibo-Konibo people have long protected the biodiversity that surrounds them, making use of it in traditional medicine. Today, this close relationship with plants is on the brink of extinction. Confronted with the neglect of the Peruvian government and the lack of access to healthcare, with just one overstretched hospital in the Amazon, the Shipibo-Konibo have come together to protect their community. In May 2020, they founded Comando Matico, a group of traditional healers available to care for people living along the banks of the Ucayali River. However, the presence of Catholic and Evangelical churches has rocked the traditional, cultural system of these communities. Many Shipibo-Konibo patients have completely rejected the presence of this Comando and its traditional methods, sometimes opting for low-quality self-medication instead. In January 2021, Peru’s Directorate of Indigenous People reported more than 224,442 confirmed cases of COVID-19 since the health crisis began and 3,831 deaths, including many indigenous elders and leaders, who have taken their knowledge of the plants and biodiversity of the Peruvian Amazon with them.
JARDIN DE LA PASSERELLE