Vampire bats and moonshine

We did our elective in an indigenous reservation in Central America. The Native Indian Reservation covers a huge expanse of land stretching from eastern Costa Rica all the way into Panama. Although the rainforests and mountains make the area visually stunning, the land is relatively infertile and is unsuitable for farming, which further exacerbates poverty.

There are an estimated 8000 Indians living in various settlements throughout the reservation. The Indians have been in this area for centuries and are believed to have originally come from inland Asia; genetic studies have shown them to be related to similar tribes in Outer Mongolia. They are nomadic people and move settlement on average every 9-18 months, frequently moving between the two countries across a border that does not exist on their reservation.