Kayabu

Naná lives in a village on the banks of the Amazon. The lives of the people are shaped by the humid, warm climate and the rhythm of the seasons. When the river overflows its banks during the rainy season, the people let the water flow through their homes, and the village children travel to school by boat.

One day, while Naná is sitting by the shore with her fishing rod, waiting for a fish to bite, a canoe appears. Inside are a mother and her children, with the oldest boy skillfully steering the boat through the current with a paddle. Naná wonders where these people might be headed.

Soon after, the boy from the canoe shows up at the village school. His name is Kayabu, and he takes his place next to Naná. The two become friends, even as they marvel at each other's worlds. It is just as surprising to Naná that Kayabu has never dealt with money as it is for Kayabu to imagine that Naná is afraid of the forest that begins just behind the village. Kayabu and his family lived deep in the rainforest—until a fire ignited by deforestation forced them to flee. A fate they share with many Indigenous people in the Amazon rainforest.

This friendship story opens a window into the world of the Indigenous population of the Amazon, whose habitat is threatened by industrial deforestation and resource extraction. In Brazil, there were once 1,000 Indigenous groups; today, only about 300 remain.