The traditional territory of the Shipibo-Konibo people is located in the Ucayali region and its tributaries. This area comprises a vast expanse of tropical forest. The Shipibo-Konibo have lived in this region for generations and their culture and way of life are deeply connected to their environment.
The forest is also the setting for cultural practices, such as the collection of medicinal plants, their connection with nature and rituals. It is also a place for subsistence and for gathering materials that are used for handicrafts and construction. However, the territory faces several challenges and threats due to deforestation caused by logging and extractive industries, drug trafficking, and oil palm monoculture, which threaten the integrity of the ecosystem and the Shipibo-Konibo people's traditional way of life.
The protection and conservation of the territory are of great importance to guarantee the sustainability of the Shipibo-Konibo people's culture and livelihoods.
The Shipibos-Konibos used to live in large malocas scattered along the rivers, and the traditional house was open to the four winds. The dwellings were cool and comfortable, similar to an upside-down ship cut at both ends, the house was essentially built with an immense gabled roof that stopped one meter above the ground and served at the same time as a wall. (Chiriff, 1997).
The roof was made of intertwined palm fronds resting on chonta palms. When the roof deteriorated, they would look for another place to collectively clear and build a new dwelling, which took approximately twenty days. In addition, a small space was built next to the maloca to serve as a kitchen.
The trend now is to build houses like the mestizos do. Their life is closed. Now the Shipibo build their homes to protect themselves from the world. No one needed walls in a society where everyone was equal, and where no one had more than the other. (Heath, 2002).
The livelihood of the Shipibo-Konibo people, like other Indigenous peoples of the Amazon, is based on slash-and-burn agriculture. Some communities still continue to plant a variety of crops, such as platano, corn, peanuts, beans, rice, and they take advantage of the dry season to plant.
Other activities include hunting and fishing. However, in recent years, it has become more difficult to find animals and hunters have to walk for long hours in the bush to get their prey and sometimes return without getting any (Soldevilla, 2010).
