Meet the 'Turtle Women' of Amazon: 7 Indigenous women are bringing vulnerable river turtles back

Seven Indigenous Siekopai women in Ecuador’s Amazon are using ancestral knowledge, modern technology and community-led conservation to give vulnerable river turtles a better chance of survival. Known as the Tari Nomiowa’i, or “Turtle Women”, the group patrols the banks of the Aguarico River in search of charapa turtle nests, carefully collects eggs threatened by flooding, predators and human activity, and raises the hatchlings in protected conditions before returning them to the river. During the 2025-26 nesting season, the women collected 235 eggs and successfully hatched and released 208 young turtles into the Aguarico River in March and April 2026. Their work is not only helping protect Podocnemis unifilis, also known as the yellow-spotted Amazon River turtle, but is also preserving an Indigenous relationship with the river and its wildlife.How seven Indigenous women became the ‘Turtle Women’ of the AmazonThe conservation effort is centred on seven Siekopai women who call themselves Tari Nomiowa’i, a name that translates as “Turtle Women”. Their work combines traditional ecological knowledge passed down through generations with modern conservation techniques. Janeth Piaguaje, a ...