The Problem Fossil fuel extraction, deforestation, and clearing land for pasture devastate the Amazon rain forest because there are few alternative sources of income available to the people who live there. These practices also lead to a loss of culture, language and land sovereignty as communities and the environment they depend on are destroyed, and many young people, especially women migrate to cities where they face discrimination and poverty. HAKHU aims to provide a unique opportunity to indigenous women in the Ecuadorian Amazon to continue their cultural forms of art while providing an income for their family and being part of a women's association that will support and empower them. The Hakhu Project Hakhu, which means let’s go in Kichwa, is an organization that is dedicated to promoting sustainable development projects in league with small indigenous communities within the Ecuadorian Amazon. The Hakhu Project was formed by community leaders and Leo Cerda, an environmental activist and member of the Kichwa Nation, as a way to provide income for people in these areas that are hard hit by oil exploitation. Hakhu’s goal is to create sustainable sources of income for people native to the Amazon region so they can have an alternative to the extractive and destructive industries of oil, mining, lumber, and beef. The first project to be undertaken is Hakhu Amazon Design.
