The ancestors of the Achuar people have lived along the Pastaza and Morona rivers of Ecuador and Peru for thousands of years. In 1992, the Achuar were granted legal title over 680,000 hectares of the 800,000 in total that comprise their ancestral territory in Ecuador. This has allowed the Achuar to manage their natural resources according to their own vision; except for underground/mineral resources, to which the Ecuadorian State still holds title.

The Achuar have a robust governance structure that has allowed them to keep oil extraction and logging out of their territory for 60 years. They continue to practice the guayusa ritual every morning, drink chicha de yuca throughout the workday, and on special occasions ingest sacred, hallucinogenic plants such as Ayahuasca to encounter Arutam (a jungle spirit), which guides their work and their lives.