We people from the forest could never stay in the city. We live in the bush and we have everything we need here. Unfortunately, we are now witnessing the mass destruction of the forest. I may be like one tiny ant struggling to resist, but I do my part by talking about causes like this. While people everywhere are afraid of the end of the world, we indigenous（本土的） people already know what that means. And we're here to work（使工作） together to make sure it doesn't happen again.

  Manaus is an industrial city at the heart of the rainforest in the state of Amazonas, a place where untouched（ 未触动过的） nature meets urban life. Emerson Porches previously studied biology and is a trans artist. In performances captured through photographs, Emerson transforms into Uira Sodoma. Emerson paints and decorates their body with organic materials, becoming a hybrid natural being. The artist designs and creates the costumes using plants from the garden or local surroundings. This is from the Boriche palm.

  It's a water plant. When I touch it, it reminds me of water, of animals. I tried the costume out here on the model. So I can kind of see myself from the outside. Emerson was born in the village of Mojuí dos Campos in the Amazon region of Pará and grew up seeing the diversity of nature, later researching it scientifically. Emerson connects all these experiences through art, academic with spiritual knowledge, environmental activism with questions about gender.

  Uira is in a constant state of reinvention. Uira has many faces. Every photo, every face tells a story. And there are countless（无数的） stories to tell. Here, Uira is telling stories about the Rio Negro, stories about rights and the meaning of mystery, diversity, secrets. And about the human urge to explore and discover everything, which can lead to exploitation（开发） and, in the end, destruction.

  As Uira, Emerson can return to their roots, directing the Western European explorers' gaze（ 凝视） to the view of indigenous（本土的） peoples. As a trans person with both European and indigenous roots, Emerson mediates（调解） between different worlds. My work condemns（判刑） these violations（违反） of life, not just the destruction of the environment, but also human social violations. I create a direct parallel between these worlds. Some 8,000 kilometers away, in Africa, in southwestern（西南的） Cameroon. Near the coastal（海滨的） town of Cribi, people are busy building a better future.

  The rainforest here is part of the Congo Basin, the world's second largest area of tropical rainforest after the Amazon. At the edge of the rainforest, Warka Village takes shape. It's named after a native African tree that's a gathering（聚集） place for the local community. Here, people from the region are to live in harmony（调合） with nature, with the help of traditional materials and technology, old and new. Standing in the heart of Warka Village is not a tree, but a tower, one that can collect and filter（滤过） up to 25,000 liters of rainwater（雨水） and condensation（冷凝）. In my country, Cameroon, water is an extremely important and rare commodity（日用品）.

  We travel for miles to get clean drinking water. We want to give vulnerable（易受攻击的） communities like the Bagyeli, as well as all the others who need it, access to drinking water. A Bagyeli family has set up house right next to the construction site. They were displaced（取代） from their home in the rainforest and could be among the people who move into Warka Village once it's finished. Eight to ten families from various communities could live here together in the future. We're happy the project is coming together.

  That's why we've settled here. But they also want to better their children's future. As in many other regions of the country, the children can't go to school because they have to help ensure their family's basic needs, like fetching water for daily use. They often walk for many hours and many kilometers through the forest. The long distances are one factor. Another is health and hygiene.

  The destruction of the forest and the expansion of cities have ruined the Bagyeli's home and their access to clean water. We all do our business in the river. The water isn't really drinkable. It's where we use the toilet, where we do our laundry, everything. We drink there, too. From the same river?

  Yes. Warka Village aims to make lasting improvements to the living conditions of the people in this region. Construction began two years ago. Italian architect Arturo Vittori is in charge of the project. He previously worked on designing settlements（解决） for space research projects, so he's no stranger to dealing with tricky environmental conditions. Here in Africa, in Cameroon, as an architect, I have a more chance to work with, you know, natural materials.

  So being a less industrialized country, we are kind of obliged（迫使） to go and, you know, look for alternative technology, which are alternative for us, but for them the traditional one. So here people still live in mud house, house made out of bamboo, wood, earth. Traditionally, rainforest huts have roofs made of palm leaves, and that was the inspiration（灵感） for Warka Village. Here, the leaves of raffia palms are woven（织） into panels and layered atop a wooden structure. In such a climate, the roof is everything for a building because it protects against the rain, when it rains very strong, it protects against the sun. For the rest, in this climate, you don't need walls, you don't need partition（分割）.

  The homes are designed for families of up to ten people. There's space for a fire pit（坑） in the center of the room. The rising smoke should protect the thatched roof from moisture and keep insects away. This house in the rainforest aims to emulate（仿真） the traditional lifestyle of the Baghelli, who've lived here for as long as anyone can remember. Though unfortunately, they no longer live in harmony with their natural environment, it's been deforested, and the things they need to survive have been destroyed. That drives them out of the forest and into the city.

  Every year, an estimated four million hectares（公顷） of rainforest are cleared on the African continent.