Google works with Amazonians to put an end to logging

14 Apr 2008 | 10:58 BST

By Sylvie Barak

THE SURUI PEOPLE from deep inside the Amazon rain forest, have found themselves a new godlike saviour in the sky; and its name is Ragogmakan – or Google, as it’s more commonly known to us.

The tiny tribe has had it brought to its attention that Google Earth could prove extremely useful in spotting and stopping illegal logging in the region and the search engine giant seems happy to help.

Forty years ago, the tribe had not even made its first contact with the outside world, but it seems that they’re quick to catch up. Their chief, Almir Narayamoga Surui, first came up with the idea when someone (probably a tourist with a laptop) showed him Google Earth, and he immediately (and seemingly intuitively) used the never seen before technology to search for his home (hut). But alas, the chief was saddened when he saw the clear effects of logging surrounding his territory. He decided that he would embark on a long journey to San Francisco, to form an allegiance with this new powerful all seeing eye in the sky.

Google, still clinging to its “we’re still not evil” mantra, decided that it would do them no harm at all in the eyes of world media if they helped the Amazonians out, and so, with the help of the US-based Amazon Conservation Team, Google Earth agreed to provide high-resolution satellite images of the tribe’s slice of rainforest, an isolated 2,400 square kilometres in Rondonia, in the Brazilian wild west.

The Amazon Conservation Team is now training the Surui in IT, so that they will be able to use Google Earth to record the co-ordinates of any logging they see via satellite and report it immediately. This is why 34-year-old Almir has dubbed the Search engine giant “Ragogmakan”, which means messenger in Surui. " We call Google ragogmakan because we hope it will help us get our message out", he explains.

Almir also told the Independent that his vision of the future includes scores of Surui sitting in their thatched huts, using Google on their solar-powered laptops to combat illegal logging and to raise world awareness. They could also use it to buy stuff on Amazon; to help out local commerce, naturally. µ

L’Inq
Independent

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