nature

The people in Colon province's Embera village of Ella Drua are in no way defeated, and they have suffered flood losses before. But December's unprecedented rains and continued unusual precipitation in January have not made their lives easier. Much to the contrary.

Ella Drua is one of the Panama Canal Watershed communities to which the Peace Corps is paying attention, and which has drawn attention from USAID and various parts of the Panamanian government in the past. The idea is to help the people who live there to get past swidden agriculture and hunting, and to avoid things like cattle husbandry, so as to find ways to feed themselves that don't contribute to the silting of Gatun Lake or the degradation of the forests in the watershed. The people of Ella Drua have made some changes to their agricultural and wood cutting practices. Some residents have taken jobs that entail a daily river commute to places outside of the community. Most of all, Ella Drua has looked to tourism to replace sources of food and construction materials that they can no longer take from the forest.

The floods, however, washed away their community house and communal kitchen, both of which were important facilities for the work of hosting visitors. These will be rebuilt on higher ground, but first there will have to be some fundraising to buy some of the materials that are needed.