Remando Juntos por el Marañón // Paddling Together for the Marañón

In December 2014, the Remando Juntos team was created. In March 2015, the first post in the campaign went up. Since then we have been working to create awareness for the importance of  Marañón River in Peru. Through our grass-roots campaign we are connecting the people of Peru to the river, so it will cannot be destroyed without a fight, nor without everyone knowing exactly what is at stake.

Earlier this year we started Marañón Waterkeeper, we will use this platform to tackle the big issues that the river is facing and provide support to the local people who need it most. We would like to run more Remando Junto journeys in the future; giving more people the chance to experience this incredible place and continuing to grow our team.

These are some of our quantifiable achievements over the past year. The unquantifiable impact is the most important however; the personal experience by each person when travelling a river,  taking up a cause and fighting to protect something they love.

The Numbers:

  • Social media campaign 3 posts per week for more than one year, delivering educational and informative material in the form of posters, blog posts and short videos. 3300 likes on Facebook to date, predominantly in Peru with maximum diffusion of 34 000.
  • 6 informative presentations & participatory discussions in riverside communities in areas of direct influence to the dams.
  • Promotion at 5 public events and festivals in Lima (Kuyapanakuy, AniversarioConservamos, Dia Internacional de los Rios 2015, Colegio Feria, Peru Natural Presentation).
  • Hundreds of high quality photos of the Marañón Valley and communities that call it home. Many of these have been shared NGO partners to assist with promotional material.
  • Thousands of hours of video footage shot which is being used to create ‘La Serpiente de Oro’ documentary film.
  • 16 people travelling the Marañón River, something they will never forget.

The Remando Juntos Experience

Adriana Troncoso Gomez
Biology Student

What are your favourite memories from the river journey?
Everything! The rapids, the interviews and presentations in villages, nights under the stars, sharing meals with everyone and the special Peruvian Cuisine we cooked on July 28 (Peruvian Independence day). I especially remember the kind welcome that they gave us in every town that we visited on the journey.

My experience in Remando Juntos has been unique. I felt useful in something that really interested me, I met new people who wanted the same and feeling the support of everyone has been incredible. I feel that we all been learned things personally; and learned many theoretical things about the Marañón River in our research before the trip. After our journey we really learned the Marañón was and importance of the fight to save it.

What now?
We can continue the campaign and continue to inform the world of the problem. I’m really holding my breath waiting for our documentary to be ready so we can spread the word to the last corners of Peru.

In 5 Words:

Exceptional. Fun. Exciting. Productive. Touching.

Gracias.

Camote Herrera Masias
Professional Photographer and Videographer

Remando Juntos experience was amazing, met a lot of incredible people, learned a lot about Peruvian reality and the struggle in the Marañón valley. Convinced me that tourism is a perfect alternative for conservation and sustainable management of natural and cultural resources.

What are your favorite memories from the river journey?

Every day was a day to remember; new places, incredible nights, all the rapids and great  people we met.

 

What now?

Building on this experience I want to continue to promote the conservation and create environmental awareness.

I would like to continue working on the Remando Juntos project and complete more important work.

 

In 5 Words:

Adventure. Nature. Responsibility. Future. Life.

Ana Teresa Ruiz
Environmental Engineer & Natural Resources Management

It was one of the best experience that I have ever had. The river can teach you so much, you just need to watch with all your senses.

What Now?
People can not protect landscapes & ecosystems that they don’t know. RJ is showing facts about Marañón River and what kind of things we can lose. The experience taught me that we must manage our resource to let the future generation see them.

5 Words:
Create awareness & be the change.

This project gave me other perspectives of preserving the nature of a river. We need to manage our environment & the economy to find the trade-off between them. However, in cases like this, it is better to find ecofriendly solutions to generate energy and preserve the river in its natural state. Remando junto taught me that people can be the change that world needs.

Luigi Marmanillo Cateriano
River Guide and Small Business Owner

This project gave me other perspectives of preserving the nature of a river. We need to manage our environment & the economy to find the trade-off between them. However, in cases like this, it is better to find ecofriendly solutions to generate energy and preserve the river in its natural state. Remando junto taught me that people can be the change that world needs.

What are your favorite memories from the river journey?

Sharing experience with local people and hearing the Ronderos (local police officers) talk about their struggle was very emotive.

 

What Now?

I am organizing and promoting rafting trips on the Marañón to help protecting the river and it´s people.

 

5 Words:

Adventure. Conservation. Friends. Eye opening.

Lizbeth Diaz Redolfo
Human Rights Lawyer

I feel I´ve learned a lot from this experience.
Thanks to RJ I´ve had the chance to meet amazing people that share the same vision about nature and development and that´s pretty hard to find these days in the world. It´s great to see we have the same vision about nature being our mother; and not just as a fountain of resources.

What are your favorite memories from the river journey?

Sharing experience with local people and hearing the Ronderos (local police officers) talk about their struggle was very emotive.

 

What Now?

I am organizing and promoting rafting trips on the Marañón to help protecting the river and it´s people.

 

5 Words:

Adventure. Conservation. Friends. Eye opening.