Lickan Antay
The People of the Atacama
The Lickan Antay are the indigenous people of the Atacama desert in Northern Chile. The Atacama desert is the highest and driest desert in the world at an average elevation of 3692 metres with areas that have never recorded rainfall. Yet despite this extreme environment the Lickan Antay people have persisted for at least 6000 years carving out their existence in the Atacama surrounded by some of the world's most active volcanoes. They have survived as agricultural and llama herding people coexisting with 'Pata Hoiri' the Mother Earth and all it's living entities. The outside world is coming in the form of corporations and tourists all looking for something from the rich resources of the Atacama be it lithium or wool or simply a sense of well being. The Lickan Antay today prove to be resilient even with all the changes around them leading a lifestyle that is still very close to how their ancestors lived.
