Drive an hour out of Panama City, then ride in a motor driven dugout canoe to one of five Embera Villages in the Chagres National Park of Panama. Each is unique, but share a few things in common...these people have maintained their traditions and culture.

The villages are built on a rise, about 100 feet in from the river. The houses of the village are set 20 feet apart atop the rise on posts. Around each village, the jungle is partly cleared and planted. Dugout canoes are usually seen pulled up on the riverbanks.

Their houses are raised off the ground about eight feet and set on posts, with thatched roofs made from palm fronds. There are no walls, although often pieces of cloth will be draped to provide shade. Hanging from the supporting beams are hammocks, baskets, pots, bows and arrows, mosquito nets, clothing, etc. There is usually a kitchen built on a clay platform about three feet square; on top of this base they build a fire, supporting cooking pots over the fire with a tripod of sturdy sticks. The houses are accessed from the ground via a sloped log with deep notches for a ladder. They sometimes turn the notches face down at night if some animal is trying to climb into the house while they sleep.

The Embera have their own form of government and live by their own set of unwritten rules. Not assimilated into Panamanian or Colombian society, the Embera people do not hold any civic positions. Health care is primarily provided by trained Shamans, and many medicinal plants are cultivated in each village. The land is community owned and community farmed.

No one wears shoes. They paint their bodies with a dye made from the berry of a species of genip tree. The black dye is thought to repel insects. On special occasions, using this same dye, they print intricate geometric patterns all over their bodies. The women also wear silver necklaces and silver earrings; many made of old silver coins. They punch a hole in the coin and run a silver chain through it. Many of the coins on these necklaces date to the 19th century and are passed down from mother to daughter. Marriages are usually made between people of different villages, and there are many other villages not in the National Park.

When the five villages were "integrated" into the relatively new Chagres National Park, the Panamanian government placed new restrictions on the Embera, which essentially required the villagers to find creative ways to raise cash money to live, at the same time trying to maintain their lifestyle. Enter tourism. Dying fibers, weaving and sewing baskets, woodcarving, making jewelry and instruments are now helping to keep the villages as self-sufficient as possible. Allowing outside visitors in to explore the Embera way of life on guided tours and the selling of handcrafted wares has become the new norm. Several Peace Corps workers have been working and living with the Embera of this region to help with the transition.