Photo Essay by Thomas James Parrish

When images of the fires sweeping across the Amazon rainforest in September 2019 reached my news feed, something was triggered in me. I have no connection to South America, I’ve never even been there, but the ferocity of these fires - and the stories around them - deeply disturbed me. They were no accident. Pro-business policies and weakened environmental protection schemes encouraged deforestation of the Amazon, so the Amazon burned.

I felt compelled to do something that stood in direct contrast to what these fires represented – a new age of environmental destruction fuelled by a selfish desire for more, with little regard to resulting suffering.

Pilgrims represent humility and sacredness. They have wandered across the land since the earliest centuries to give thanks, to connect, to bless and be blessed, and to walk in the footsteps of those before them. Taking less than they need and giving more than they have, the values of a pilgrim are refined to that of necessity and essential rather than excess and greed, leaving only footsteps in their trace and taking only as much as they can carry. 

So I embarked on this project - a documentary fundraiser campaign that saw me walk the Camino del Norte, an 850km pilgrimage across the Northern Coast of Spain, raising money to support indigenous communities in the Amazon rainforest that suffered horrifically as a result of the 2019 fires. Photographically the project explores the pilgrim lifestyle and the connectedness a nomadic way of life can bestow upon us. Contrasting the devastation of the fires with the sustainability of the Camino (and its promotion of simplicity and contentment), these photos remind us of the connections made when living intentionally, day to day.

To learn more about Tom’s work and journey, visit his website.