After decades of environmental destruction and social injustice, a new organic technology is bringing hope to communities afflicted by oil extraction in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
CRISIS
Between 1964 and 1992, Texaco spilled over 18.5 billion gallons of highly toxic waste into 600 open unlined pits. Little has been cleaned up. These pools contain a mixture of oil, heavy metals and radioactive substances that continues to overflow and seep into the water table, resurfacing in rivers and wells.
HARM
Local people are left with contaminated land and water and one of the highest cancer rates in the world. Skin lesions on children, extremely high rates of miscarriage and large tumorous growths are among pollution related health complaints. Once pristine rain forest is now barren, toxic wasteland. Families’ ability to grow food is negatively affected by land contamination.
HOPE
A solution to this pollution is mycoremediation, the use of mushroom mycelium to digest and break down the toxic matter. It has been shown in many trials to be an effective way to heal poisoned land. Although the oil companies refuse to take responsibility for the pollution they have caused, mycoremediation is a natural, affordable and simple way for local communities to heal their land and water.
RENEWAL
The Amazon Mycorenewal Project brings this exciting
technique to the Amazon for
the first time ever. A coalition of Ecuadorian and international non-governmental organizations
is partnering with local people
to remediate their lands using
mycelium as well as grow edible
and medicinal mushrooms
for consumption and income
generation.
