What time in the rainforest taught me about connection – and what it may mean to build a technology company of the future.
This past April, I had the opportunity to spend time in the Amazon rainforest with the Noke Koi people through our nonprofit, Vozes da Floresta.
The experience left me reflecting deeply on technology, humanity, connection, and what it truly means to build a “Tech Company of the Future.”
One of the most striking things about being in the forest was realizing that the absence of constant digital interruption did not mean silence.
The forest was incredibly alive.
Birds, monkeys, frogs, insects, wind, rain, drumming, laughter, and conversation filled the jungle day and night.
What was absent wasn’t sound. It was the constant pull of notifications, scrolling, urgency, and digital noise.
There was a phrase we often used there:
“Jungle time.”
Conversations moved differently.
Meetings with the community sometimes lasted for hours in the dark, with only candlelight illuminating the space. People listened differently. Meals were shared. Stories unfolded slowly. Time felt less transactional and more relational.
At the same time, technology was still very present.
The villages had Starlink internet powered by solar energy – but connectivity was often dictated by nature. If the sun was shining, the solar panels powered the system and internet access was available. When heavy rain moved through, we would sometimes lose the connection for a while.
Nature itself created boundaries around connectivity.
Rather than fighting those pauses, people adapted to them. The limits naturally encouraged greater intentionality around when and how the internet was used.
That experience stayed with me.
Without tools like Starlink, Zoom, WhatsApp video calls, translation applications, and other forms of digital communication, many of the relationships and collaborations connecting us with villages in the Amazon might never have been possible.
Technology created the bridge.
The deeper question is:
How do we use these tools in ways that strengthen humanity, awareness, connection, and community – instead of pulling us away from them?
During our time there, we also witnessed how real scams, social engineering, and digital manipulation have become – even in remote Indigenous communities where internet access is still relatively new.
Smartphones, social media, digital banking, messaging apps, and online communication are arriving rapidly, often without the generations of digital literacy and cybersecurity awareness that other communities have had time to develop.
The consequences go beyond financial loss.
They affect trust, relationships, and the emotional fabric of a community trying to understand what is happening. This led to important conversations about awareness, discernment, discipline, and how communities can protect themselves while still embracing the opportunities technology creates.
I began thinking about tech discernment as a practice.
Like meditation.
Like working out.
Like caring for our physical health.
In a world of constant notifications, AI, algorithms, scams, endless information, and digital stimulation, learning how to pause, question, discern, and use technology consciously may become one of the most important human skills of the future.
At indietech, we love technology.
Technology connects people across the world. It creates opportunity. It empowers businesses and communities. It makes collaboration possible in ways that once would have been unimaginable.
But healthy technology use matters.
As AI and digital systems continue to accelerate, preserving human qualities like presence, discernment, creativity, emotional intelligence, focus, community, and connection may become one of the greatest responsibilities of our time.
Being in the Amazon reminded me why the forest is often called the heart and lungs of the Earth.
It is alive.
Perhaps the future of technology is not simply about becoming more digitally connected. Perhaps it is also about learning to remain deeply connected—to ourselves, to one another, to nature, and to our shared humanity—along the way.
With gratitude,
Christy Lemaster
Founder and CEO
indietech
