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| How the Waorani tribe made me relax | How the Waorani tribe made me relax |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Before and after... Karen in the day job (left) and in the jungle | Before and after... Karen in the day job (left) and in the jungle |
| Before she went to the Ecuadorian jungle to live with the Waorani tribe, Karen Morris-Lanz was a BlackBerry-toting workaholic single mother from Milton Keynes. Here she explains how life with this remote people helped teach her to relax. | Before she went to the Ecuadorian jungle to live with the Waorani tribe, Karen Morris-Lanz was a BlackBerry-toting workaholic single mother from Milton Keynes. Here she explains how life with this remote people helped teach her to relax. |
| With a hut, a log, water and a hammock - and no BlackBerry or teenage daughters - there was a shock phase after I arrived in the almost toy-like plane that landed on a patch of grass deep in the jungles of Ecuador. | With a hut, a log, water and a hammock - and no BlackBerry or teenage daughters - there was a shock phase after I arrived in the almost toy-like plane that landed on a patch of grass deep in the jungles of Ecuador. |
| Bameno is four days down river on a dugout canoe from the nearest town and does not, as yet, have a postal address. FIND OUT MORE... Tribal Wives is on BBC Two on Wednesday 25 June, at 2100 BST Or catch up on the class="" href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/">BBC iPlayer | |
| There are times when you just have to get on with it to survive. My shock of landing did not last. I was living with the Waorani tribe. The business of the tribe was gathering and hunting for food. | There are times when you just have to get on with it to survive. My shock of landing did not last. I was living with the Waorani tribe. The business of the tribe was gathering and hunting for food. |
| The jungle was our supermarket. It provided what we needed. The Waorani know everything there is to know about the world they live in. It is so different to our life. | The jungle was our supermarket. It provided what we needed. The Waorani know everything there is to know about the world they live in. It is so different to our life. |
| For example, I had taken some biodegradable hair conditioner but it did not work well. My hair soon became dry. Debota my hostess gave me a fruit from the forest that we heated in the fire. Her daughter Yamenca put it on my hair and my hair quickly regained condition. | For example, I had taken some biodegradable hair conditioner but it did not work well. My hair soon became dry. Debota my hostess gave me a fruit from the forest that we heated in the fire. Her daughter Yamenca put it on my hair and my hair quickly regained condition. |
| Mash and spit | Mash and spit |
| We mostly ate fish that was served on a leaf and sometimes had manioc. Manioc is a root vegetable which when mashed is a bit like a potato. The manioc always tasted better if it was boiled in the fish water. | We mostly ate fish that was served on a leaf and sometimes had manioc. Manioc is a root vegetable which when mashed is a bit like a potato. The manioc always tasted better if it was boiled in the fish water. |
| Manioc is first mashed by the teeth and spat into a bowl. Everyone spits the chewed manioc back into the same bowl. It's easy to see how if one person gets sick in the tribe, they all do. I was never sick. | Manioc is first mashed by the teeth and spat into a bowl. Everyone spits the chewed manioc back into the same bowl. It's easy to see how if one person gets sick in the tribe, they all do. I was never sick. |
| Programme preview: Tribal Wives | |
| For breakfast every morning we had choncha. It's a suede-like fruit that grows on the top of trees. It's boiled for half an hour and then peeled and chewed in the traditional way and put back into the same bowl. This mixture is added to water for our breakfast drink.. | For breakfast every morning we had choncha. It's a suede-like fruit that grows on the top of trees. It's boiled for half an hour and then peeled and chewed in the traditional way and put back into the same bowl. This mixture is added to water for our breakfast drink.. |
| I missed my Ready Brek. I really missed coffee with clean water that came from a boiled kettle. I didn't miss not having to run around shouting at teenagers to get ready for school, checking early e-mails on my BlackBerry and preparing myself for a long car journey. | I missed my Ready Brek. I really missed coffee with clean water that came from a boiled kettle. I didn't miss not having to run around shouting at teenagers to get ready for school, checking early e-mails on my BlackBerry and preparing myself for a long car journey. |
| There was no shower or toilet for me to use so I used the tribal log. The Waorani have an amazing sense of balance. I learned how to use this log quickly. Failure would have meant landing in a pit of maggots and flies and God knows what else. | There was no shower or toilet for me to use so I used the tribal log. The Waorani have an amazing sense of balance. I learned how to use this log quickly. Failure would have meant landing in a pit of maggots and flies and God knows what else. |
| Tough times | Tough times |
| The Waorani have never lived in a money economy and prior to its recent introduction did not consider themselves poor. They have, after all, survived in balance with their environment for thousands of years. They were not conquered by the Incas or the Spaniards. | The Waorani have never lived in a money economy and prior to its recent introduction did not consider themselves poor. They have, after all, survived in balance with their environment for thousands of years. They were not conquered by the Incas or the Spaniards. |
| I believe being poor to the Waorani is not being able to take your own food from the jungle when you need it. In their community they support people who cannot hunt and they take on different roles for the benefit of the community. I learned our culture can be pretty judgemental about what we don't know. Even in a recession we really don't know what tough times are. | I believe being poor to the Waorani is not being able to take your own food from the jungle when you need it. In their community they support people who cannot hunt and they take on different roles for the benefit of the community. I learned our culture can be pretty judgemental about what we don't know. Even in a recession we really don't know what tough times are. |
| The tribe has a very different social structure to the West | The tribe has a very different social structure to the West |
| Getting back to the very basics in life does give you a different perspective on things. | Getting back to the very basics in life does give you a different perspective on things. |
| It's all about needs not wants. | It's all about needs not wants. |
| It shows you that people are more important than things. When we were hunting it was so easy, in just a few steps, to lose sight of people. Luckily for me the tribe appeared to have assigned a small boy to look out for me during the hunt. Every time I got lost and found myself on my own he was there to find me. | It shows you that people are more important than things. When we were hunting it was so easy, in just a few steps, to lose sight of people. Luckily for me the tribe appeared to have assigned a small boy to look out for me during the hunt. Every time I got lost and found myself on my own he was there to find me. |
| Childcare is different. The children of the Waorani are never told off. The siblings don't argue, there's no fighting and arguing. | Childcare is different. The children of the Waorani are never told off. The siblings don't argue, there's no fighting and arguing. |
| They learn by watching the adults. As a mother, to see a two-year-old wandering by an open fire, is strange. We would never allow that kind of thing in our society. | They learn by watching the adults. As a mother, to see a two-year-old wandering by an open fire, is strange. We would never allow that kind of thing in our society. |
| Space to relax | Space to relax |
| The whole experience has helped me balance my past, giving the bad things that had happened to me in the past less weight on the scales. This leaves me with more room for good things to happen. | The whole experience has helped me balance my past, giving the bad things that had happened to me in the past less weight on the scales. This leaves me with more room for good things to happen. |
| My life before the jungle was very busy. I tended to work 24/7 and never stop. Now I'm self-employed with my human resources firm Waponi [the Waorani word for "beautiful" or "everything in balance"]. Since I've become a consultant, I can stop. I don't have a BlackBerry now. They rule your life. | My life before the jungle was very busy. I tended to work 24/7 and never stop. Now I'm self-employed with my human resources firm Waponi [the Waorani word for "beautiful" or "everything in balance"]. Since I've become a consultant, I can stop. I don't have a BlackBerry now. They rule your life. |
| Tribe members support others in times of need | Tribe members support others in times of need |
| One of the most important things I've learnt from the Waorani is that when you have a space to relax in you grow more as a person. I've learned so much my head is bursting. The tribe know how to rest. | One of the most important things I've learnt from the Waorani is that when you have a space to relax in you grow more as a person. I've learned so much my head is bursting. The tribe know how to rest. |
| I learned so much about myself during the experience and since I have returned. I will continue to hold on to the balance they gave me and fight to keep it. | I learned so much about myself during the experience and since I have returned. I will continue to hold on to the balance they gave me and fight to keep it. |
| I will also fight with the Waorani to save their land that is under threat from the oil companies. My friends want to keep their home. I also want to help large corporates and businesses with their corporate social responsibility issues to help us all find a bit of balance. | I will also fight with the Waorani to save their land that is under threat from the oil companies. My friends want to keep their home. I also want to help large corporates and businesses with their corporate social responsibility issues to help us all find a bit of balance. |
| I truly think I was given a gift. I would like to give a gift back to my tribe and help them save their land and heritage. | I truly think I was given a gift. I would like to give a gift back to my tribe and help them save their land and heritage. |
| Send us your comments using the form below. | Send us your comments using the form below. |