The Current Impact of Motorcycle Motorisation on Amazonian Indigenous Peoples

Project Information

MOTOBOOM

Grant agreement ID: 101060942

DOI

10.3030/101060942

Project closed

EC signature date 15 July 2022

Start date 1 February 2023

End date 31 January 2025

Funded under

• Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)

Total cost

No data

EU contribution

€ 188 590,08

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITA CA' FOSCARI VENEZIA
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 1 - MOTOBOOM (The Current Impact of Motorcycle Motorisation on Amazonian Indigenous Peoples)

Reporting period: 2023-02-01 to 2025-01-31

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

Over the last century, the indigenous landscape of the South American Lowlands has been increasingly shaped by steamboats, railways, trucks, chainsaws, and electric generators, introduced by missionaries, extractive industries, armies, development projects, and NGOs. However, anthropological and historical research has largely overlooked this ‘mechanical colonization’ of indigenous life. Notably, little to no research exists on a striking aspect of modernization in these marginalized territories: the rapid spread of motorcycles in recent decades and their profound social, economic, and environmental impacts.
Therefore, the MOTOBOOM project seeks to conduct a groundbreaking interdisciplinary analysis of motorcycle dissemination among indigenous communities in the Bolivian Amazon, offering both academic and practical contributions. Academically, it will provide an ethnographic examination of indigenous motorcycle appropriation, mechanical knowledge, and the social, economic, environmental, health, symbolic, and gender-related repercussions of motorcycle use. Practically, it aims to inform public policy and local community initiatives on road safety and accident prevention in marginalized contexts.
By undertaking this research program at my host institution, Ca’ Foscari University Venice (UNIVE), the project will fill a crucial gap in anthropological studies on indigenous modernity, societal transformation, and technological change. Additionally, it will strengthen my expertise as a professor and researcher in environmental anthropology, gender studies, science and technology studies, and digital humanities.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

In February 2023, I began working at Ca' Foscari University Venice completing onboarding tasks and starting the training by research by attending courses on Environmental Anthropology, Digital Humanities, Science and Technology Studies, and Gender Studies, while improving my transferable skills with formal Italian language courses (A2, B1, B2). At the same time, I began dissemination activities, presenting my research to UNIVE students and co-organizing a seminar on the Anthropology of the South American Lowlands. By March, I continued administrative work (budget management, ethics deliverables, career development plan) and further training by research training. From April to May I focused on starting publication and working on the project website. I also prepared the fieldwork period and continued dissemination activities, including oral presentations. From June to September 2023, I conducted fieldwork in Bolivia studying the social, economic and environmental impacts of motorcycles on indigenous Amazonia. Between October and December, I completed the data management plan and processed field data.
In early 2024, I attended academic seminars and organized the international workshop "The Age of Motorcycles…". During mid-2024, I spent three months in Paris as a visiting scholar at CREDA, focusing on Digital Humanities and co-organizing a workshop on ethnographies of repair practices. During the last months of 2024, I completed further fieldwork in Bolivia and wrapped up the year preparing the dissemination and outreach plan, continuing publication and dissemination, and preparing a final workshop for January 2025. Throughout the year, I also attended seminars, published research articles, supervised students, peer-reviewed papers for academic journals and presented papers at international conferences.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The project achieved significant scientific impact through an interdisciplinary analysis of motorcycle use among indigenous peoples in the Bolivian Amazon, addressing current gaps in anthropological studies on indigenous modernity and technology appropriation in peripheral regions. By integrating scientific dissemination, education, and public outreach, it also fostered knowledge transfer, advanced academic insights, and contributed to issues regarding sustainable development, social inclusion, technological innovation, and environmental awareness.
International workshops in Italy, France, and Bolivia established a comparative framework, linking indigenous motorcycle dissemination with global studies on mechanization, extractivism, repair culture, and environmental challenges across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Workshops with communal authorities, local officials, and indigenous leaders explored road safety, technology’s impact, and environmental issues in regions facing deforestation, climate change, and urbanization.
Educational initiatives strengthened MA and PhD training in Italy, France, Argentina, and Bolivia. Seminars at institutions such as Ca’ Foscari University, Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, and Universidad Católica fostered an international network of emerging scholars in anthropology, STS, and environmental sciences, providing hands-on experience with advanced methodologies. Media outreach further extended the project’s reach. As an MSCA Ambassador, the project also promoted mobility opportunities between Latin America and Europe, engaging academic and indigenous communities. The project’s outreach strategy built lasting institutional collaborations between Italy, France, Bolivia, and Argentina, facilitating interdisciplinary knowledge exchange.

Working on the motorcycle

Ethnomechanics