Last Look Back - Saving Hunter-Gatherer Cultures

Last Look Back Project works to study and preserve one of the last hunter-gatherer cultures in the world: the Waorani cultures of Amazonian Ecuador. 

We’ve long suspected that their natural Paleo Diet is key to the good health of these indigenous peoples. With the onset of the global coronavirus pandemic, we have a unique opportunity to study something truly amazing: this particular Amazonian diet might the remote hunter-gathers be less susceptible to COVID-19 than modern societies. 

Why? Perhaps because this remote Wao hunter-gatherer diet itself is medicinal, and the treatment for COVID-19 are particular fruits already in their Paleo Diet. In-spite of frequent interaction with local group, with heavy COVID-19 presence the Wao alone had a complete absence of COVID-19 symptoms. These Waorani hunter-gatherers consuming a complete wild diet also have an absence of most chronic and some infectious diseases common in almost all parts of the world. Native medicine has cured modern disease before and understanding how these fruit-based medicines work may help save lives.

We are dedicated to the preservation and support of the remaining hunter-gatherer groups and their way of life. By studying these remote communities, researchers have the rare opportunity to gather knowledge missed by other scientists. 

Our Last Look Back Project researcher Juan Carlos Cuenca is leading a team of 25 medical professionals deep into the rainforest to visit these remote communities where few people ever venture. 

We need your support to continue our research. Funds are needed to provide: staffing, COVID-19 testing supplies, a motorized canoe, and general research and aid. 

WHO WE ARE: The project is run by medical anthropologist Dr. Douglas London. His novel research on hunter-gatherers has been supported by Harvard Medical School and the United Nations. 

Since 2010, Dr. London has lived with remote hunter-gather groups for months at a time and is known and trusted throughout this Waorani hunter-gatherer region of the Amazon rainforest. 

We can’t complete our research without your help. Please donate now to help us continue our studies as we search for a rare cure for COVID-19.

Last Look Back Program Facebook page