About Voices of the Forest
The inherent power for creation of nature is perhaps the greatest example of creativity on Earth. Nature is constantly manifesting itself in multiple forms through the great cycle of creation and destruction. Contrary to the traditional conception that defines nature as something separate from the humanbeing, our vision is based on the living experience of integration with nature. Considering this approach, it has been shown that when humans get in contact with nature, particularly with healthy natural areas, we return to a natural state of internal balance. This state inherently fosters inspiration and creativity processes. Great examples of nature-inspired art can be seen in masterpieces such as Vivaldi's 4 Seasons, Georgia O'Keeffe's paintings and even in Gaudi's architecture amongst many others. The predominant cultural model tends to distance us from nature, however the ability to be linked to it is intrinsic in the human experience.
We want to enable a connection with nature, in order to allow the experience of "going inwards". Nature, as that "outside environment", is the perfect mean for self-knowledge or "going inwards". However, sometimes we do not know how to reach this experience. We facilitate means to approach this experience within natural areas and we do it in a slightly different way: through the exploration of sound. Sound has been used as an inexhaustible source of information over the years, thanks to sound we can know the environment that surrounds us, develop many of our daily activities and even reach states of wellbeing. Sound is also a clear indicator of health, we can see it from the beating rhythm of our heart to the acoustic complexity of a tropical forest.
What it is?
VOCES DEL BOSQUE is a mediation and cultural project that houses different initiatives whose purpose is to promote ecological awareness processes in different communities, using sensory methodologies based mainly on listening to the forests.
Through the use of transdisciplinary techniques based on eco-acoustics, ecotherapy, ecosomatics, we promote artistic processes -experimental and local- in biodiverse environments. It is an invitation to explore and imagine non-hierarchical relationships between nature and culture, recovering ancestral Andean ways of listening to the worlds.
We encourage the creation of spaces and contents that promote the appreciation of natural areas of biocultural importance as a source of life, health and inspiration, thus remaking the link between humans and more than humans.
Why Ecuador?
Ecuador is one of the most biodiverse countries in the world
and therefore, rich in natural sounds as well.
The Team
Paola Moscoso
Founder, Director
PhD biologist specialized in ecoacoustics at the University of Sussex. Her love for animals and nature led her to study biology. She has been working for more than 15 years in research and conservation of tropical forests and threatened species of Ecuador; being part of the Primate Specialist Group of the IUCN. She has travelled around the world visiting wild areas, including Antartic lands. where she was a scientist delegate of Ecuador in 2011. Her focus of research is based on understanding the use of sounds as indicators of the health of an ecosystem and the importance of soundscape of quality for humans.
Paola has been trained in holistic areas such as meditation and energy healing, being part of the Clairvision and Munay Suyu schools of personal development. She also has an ecotherapy training from the Earth Body Institute in California. She has explored arts such as African-American music, participating in musical groups in Ecuador and England. Her photographic work has been exposed in exhibitions in her home country.
Her scientific training and experience in the fields of arts and personal development have led her
to create integrative and multidisciplinary projects such as Voces del Bosque, of which
she is the founder.
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Click here to see more of her work.
Gustavo Chiriboga
Audiovisual communicator
He is an independent filmmaker and storyteller. He has a master's degree in performing arts from Montpellier 3 in France and ten years of practical experience. His line of work has been quite diverse and he has collaborated on projects ranging from advertising to feature films. He is madly in love with our planet, Mother Earth, Ecuador and its cultures. That is why it specializes above all in audiovisual narration with ecological content. He currently directs the video coordination of the Network of Seed Guardians, an organization that brings together more than 100 families with permacultural projects throughout the country. Gustavo is also passionate about self-development and ancient knowledge. He has been for several years a student at the MunaySuyu temple-school of Inka wisdom, with which he creates content. He is also the editor of the school's latest film, which won best film at the Quetzalcoatl Indigenous Film Festival in 2021. He works with wise women and men in different traditions throughout the United States, in order to share their messages and motivate humans to remember the ways of Nature. His work is currently shown on international streaming platforms such as Gaia Network and Inti.tv.
Collaborators
Sozapato
Artistic support
Sozapato (Sofía Zapata) is a graphic designer, Bachelor of Plastic Arts, Master of the illustrated children's book and actress in the theatrical collective Chalata Clown. Her work as an illustrator has been published and exhibited in countries such as: Ecuador, Colombia, Guatemala, Chile, Brazil, Mexico, Spain, Italy, China, Turkey, Iran, England and the United Arab Emirates. In 2019 she is selected as one of the 500 best young illustrators in the Chinese publication Posts & Telecom Press. In 2020 the New York Times in Spanish publishes its illustrated text "Inevitable Metamorphosis" and this same year it is a finalist and honorable mention in the graphic design category at the 7th Ibero-American Design Biennial in Madrid – Spain.
In 2021 she is invited to the international exhibition Aeroarte, she is selected for the exhibition Children Spectators in Bologna, selected for Sharjah Exhibition for Children's Books Illustrations in the UAE and for the exhibition of bridge posters in Iran. In addition, he obtains the second place in the international illustration competition of Amanuta in Chile. This same year his book "Under Today" is selected to be part of the Cerlalc-IBBY Catalogue of LIJ and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Manuel Sanchez
Scientific support
Manuel is a field ornithologist focused on bird vocalizations for about 15 years. Currently, he is working on taxonomic and evolutionary acoustic analyzes within paraphyletic species mainly in southern Ecuador. He has worked and volunteered in different organizations and institutions in South America, the United Kingdom and Turkey focused on research and conservation processes (for example, the creation of the RÃo Negro Sopladora National Park in Ecuador), as well as a lecturer, advisor and trainer ( g., development of bird watching, bird identification). In science communication, her main focus is public understanding of science, social media, and science-based public policy decision-making. His link with music and the link with the vocalizations of the birds make him collaborate with us.
Gabriela Vasconez
Forest Therapy Guide
Visual and plastic artist. I have been painting since I was little and I feel art as an innate gift that I have been perfecting over the years. I trained as a digital and visual artist in Ecuador. My artistic training has been complemented by a process of self-knowledge. In trips to countries like Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, the United States and Paraguay I was able to continue with my training. I have also ventured into different artistic branches such as music, sculpture, theater, dance and cinema. Art for me is a process of expression and creation of the spirit. In recent years I have taught courses and workshops to children and adults in Ecuador related to artistic expression, such as painting and plastic expression, within natural areas. I share the infinite possibilities of art as a means of personal and collective evolution.
Cata Lizarzaburo
Artistic support
Visual and plastic artist. I paint since I was little and I feel art as an innate gift that I have perfected over the years. He trained as a digital and visual artist in Ecuador. His artistic training has been complemented by a process of self-knowledge. On trips to countries like Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Bolivia, the United States and Paraguay, he continued with his training. He has also ventured into different artistic branches such as music, sculpture, theater, dance and cinema. Art for her is a process of expression and creation of the spirit. In recent years, he has taught courses and workshops to children and adults in Ecuador related to artistic expression, such as painting and plastic expression, within natural areas. Share the infinite possibilities of art as a means of personal and collective evolution.
