Petrol for Peanuts

The Shuar are a native nomadic tribe of the Amazon rain forests. 
The cultural roots of the Shuar metaphorically and literally run as deep as the roots of the actual forests that the Shuar inhabit. 
Known for their fierceness and for their traditional practice of shrinking human heads, the Shuar are an enduring people who, for centuries, have prided themselves on having never been conquered by any native or outside force, including the Spanish.
Unfortunately, the battles of history change but never end. 
During the past half century, combined influence of church missions and claim of mineral and exploration rights by oil companies has impeded the nomadic lifestyle and traditional practices of the Shuar tribe. More drastic, however, is the fact that the Shuar, along with other indigenous tribes, actually face potential extinction as a result of prolonged discharge of oil and oil byproducts directly into the waterways and ecosystems of the Amazon forests. Because organized clean-up has been slow in coming, tribal water sources remain not only extensively contaminated but in some cases flammable as well, as depicted in this artwork “Petrol for Peanuts.”
For the time being, to survive, the Shuar are finding it necessary to create a sustainable industry that will not require development of roads or destruction of rain forests, which hold the essence of the Shuar tribe’s cultural integrity and indigenous wisdom. 
The Shuar are known to have an amazing, mystical understanding of nature, especially through their tribe’s elders and shaman medicine men.
Among the indigenous foods that fuel the Shuar culture, just as oil fuels the urban culture, is the jungle peanut, which in appearance and composition differs greatly from the commonly known peanut and is greatly revered by the Shuar tribe.
Each jungle peanut is uniformly shaped with a deep golden-brown, reddish-striped skin.
Virtually all common peanuts are known to possess a mold called aflatoxin; however, analysis by J. Leek & Associates, the leading independent allergen-testing facility in the United States, has revealed that jungle peanuts possess absolutely no aflatoxin.
Even the cleanest commercial peanuts have at least some aflatoxin for the reason that common peanuts are hybridized. The jungle peanut, however, is the primal peanut, the original ancient peanut that existed thousands of years ago.
Nutritional features of the jungle peanut are exceptional in that it contains over forty percent oleic acid and twenty-six percent protein, with all eight essential amino acids, including methionine, which can be difficult to obtain through vegetarian foods. The jungle peanut also has a nutritionally vital fatty acid, arachidonic acid, typically found only in meat.
A particular group of approximately 4,300 Shuar has title to an estimated two million acres of primary rain forest. This group is one of an increasing number of Amazonian indigenous tribes who are organizing against oil exploration activities, demanding from specific oil companies and the Ecuadorian government that no oil development occur on their native land.
As unconquerable as the Shuar have always been, it can be difficult in these times for such a small group to battle corporations and governments, especially in a world hungry for oil.
It is told by the Shuar that about ten years ago the shaman medicine men of their tribe received divine visions from the spirit world informing them that the time in history had arrived for the tribe to share its indigenous wisdom as broadly as possible.
Accordingly, among their many earthly and spiritual riches, the Shuar have begun to share their jungle peanuts, purchase of which contributes to the sustainability of the Shuar land and culture. 
The more the Shuar story is told and the more recognized and appreciated their ancient foods, medicines, and wisdom become, the more defense and support the Shuar will receive from the Ecuadorian government and non-profit organizations worldwide.
Hence, it is hoped that the same world that is so hungry for oil is just as hungry for sustenance of truth, justice, and nature, despite the ever-increasing costs of moral as well as natural resources to living – costs that are paid by us all.