Nenkepare Community - Roots of life
BY VERÓNICA LOMBEIDA SALTOS
The Yasuní region is one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. Oil extraction poses a real risk of environmental degradation and threats to its human and nonhuman inhabitants. The culture of the Waorani and other indigenous communities in Yasuní is deeply rooted in their connection to nature. Verónica’s project focuses on this community and the negative impact that oil exploitation has on their lives, culture, and environment.
Yasuní, one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, faces the risk of environmental degradation, habitat loss, and contamination. This would harm not only the unique flora and fauna but also disrupt the traditional ways of life of the communities that depend on these resources. Through this project, Verónica highlights the importance of respecting the voices and needs of indigenous communities to find a balance between economic development and cultural and environmental preservation.
ABOUT VERÓNICA
Verónica Lombeida Saltos is a freelance photographer whose practice navigates the sensorial and political dimensions of image-making. Rooted in care, resistance, and observation, her work explores themes of gender, mental health, environmental crisis, and the socio-political dynamics that shape daily life. Through an intimate and often experimental approach, she captures the intersections between personal experience and collective histories.
Verónica studied Photographic Design at the Instituto Metropolitano de Diseño (La Metro) in Quito and has deepened her practice through workshops and regional programs across Latin America and Europe, including Santa Talleres, Subplataforma, and studies in Germany. Her work has been exhibited internationally in countries such as Ecuador, Mexico, Belgium, the United States, Italy, the Netherlands, China, and Panama.
She was selected for the ICP Concerned exhibition and photobook by the International Center of Photography (New York, 2020), named a finalist for the Brazil Grant for Emerging Art (2022), and received an Honorable Mention in the Photo IILA Prize for her project La Floresta, exhibited at Rome’s Trastevere Museum (2023). In 2024, she was awarded the Premio Revelación at Ecuador’s Premio Nacional de Fotografía by AFE.
Verónica’s photographs have been published in MAD Magazine, Visura, and featured by major outlets including Le Monde, BBC Español, CNN, DW, Information.dk, and El País. Her collaborations include reportage with Agence France-Presse (AFP) during Ecuador’s 2022 national strike. Through visual storytelling, she continues to question, document, and feel the world—frame by frame.