Electric Boats Offer a More Eco-Friendly Way to Travel in the Amazon

On a sweltering Sunday morning, 20 Indigenous men in the Ecuadorean Amazon boarded a canoe in their community near the border with Peru. Their destination was a neighboring village 45 minutes away by river.

They were athletes, headed to an intervillage sports competition, a cherished tradition that strengthens community bonds.

But it is one that had not happened in years, and for many participants, it was a reunion of sorts.

“I hadn’t visited Kusutkao since I was a kid,” said Luciano Peas, 28, a member of the Achuar Indigenous group, referring to the village they were headed to.

The journey between the isolated villages was made possible thanks to their boat, a traditional river canoe aside from one distinctive feature on top: 24 solar panels that harness sunlight to power an engine.

The canoe is part of a growing fleet of electric-powered vessels providing a cheaper and greener alternative to diesel-powered boats that typically travel the Indigenous region’s waterways.