The projects which Abya Yala Fund is currently working with range from a national rights training program for Mexican women to the building of small local offices from which Miskitu communities of Honduras will organize training workshops regarding the protection and demarcation of their territory.

Funded Projects

Construction of Community Solar-Powered Well QUECHUA, Bella Vista Community, Oruro, BOLIVIA - $17,000

This initiative creates an alternative model of development and resolves the problems caused by the heavy draught in the highlands with the construction of a solar powered well. This project will provide the community with a sustainable and reliable source of water for their families and for the breeding of llamas and agricultural activities. [More detail]

Training Seminar on the Social Impacts of Oil Exploration and National Laws and Policies on Asháninka Communities of the Perene River
ASHANINKA, Asháninka Native Community "Marankiari Bajo," Junin, PERU - $5,000

The seminar gathers leaders and delegates from Asháninka communities in the Perene River Valley of Peru to raise consciousness about and analyze the social impacts of oil exploration by Elf Petroleum and national laws which threaten Asháninka rights and traditional territories.

Promote the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the Face of NAFTA and other Multilateral Agreements
MAPUCHE, Aukin Wallmapu Ngulam/All Lands Council, Temuco, CHILE - $11,415

An Indigenous Conference that will initiate a dialogue, and establish and document the position and concerns of Indigenous people regarding multilateral agreements and globalization.

Strengthening of Indigenous Community Organizations to Protect Traditional Territories
MISKITU, Moskitia Asla Takanka/Mosquitia Unity (MASTA), HONDURAS - $8,000

A project aimed to consolidate Indigenous organizations and reinforce the integral development in the Mosquitia by holding training workshops for leaders and community members and building offices in the seven regions of MASTA. [More detail]

Indigenous Women's Rights Training Project
TZOTSIL, The National Autonomous Indigenous Assembly (ANIPA) and K'inal Antsetik/"Land of Women", MEXICO - $19,000

These workshops provide technical training and consciousness-raising about political issues, human rights issues and the situation of Indigenous women, which aim to improve the participation of women in social and political processes.
[More detail]

Human Rights Awareness Raising for Mayan Women
MAYA, Economic and Social Development Program for the Women - "Kichin Konojel" - Chimaltenango, GUATEMALA - $7,000.

This program trains 380 Mayan women through a series of workshops providing technical training and education on the specific rights of women, identity issues, and rights of native communities. The goal is to allow for greater integration of Mayan women in social, economic and political sectors by emphasizing Mayan cultural values and creating a database that will facilitate the access of information on human rights issues.
[More detail]

Reforestation of the Altiplano
AYMARA, Cultural Center of Ayo Ayo Leadership (CECLA) - Ayo Ayo, BOLIVIA - $4,480

Ayo Ayo youth and student leaders work together with union and political leaders of the community to hold two training workshops on the importance of reforestation and environmental conservation, and on forestry techniques and sustainable development for each of three Ayo Ayo communities in the province of Aroma, Bolivia. Following the workshops, nine-thousand trees will be planted by the families of the communities, reforesting three hectares of land with six native tree varieties.

Emergency Grants

U'wa Defense Project of Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs
National Indigenous Organization in Colombia, Samoré, COLOMBIA - $1,000

A community organizing program that assists the U'wa in in their efforts to fight the present and future attempts at destructive oil exploration and development on their ancestral lands.

Demarcation of Yaqui Regional Boundaries and Water Rights
YAQUI, Yoemem Tekia Fund - Sonora, MEXICO - $1,000

Enforcement of 1939 Accords on water rights allow the Yaqui to maintain their traditional form of development, provide the basic necessities for their families, and assert their legally recognized rights over their natural resources and traditional lands. These funds assisted the Yaqui in establishing boundaries of their lands.

Emergency Support of National Indigenous Peoples' Organizing
QUICHUA, Confederation of Indigenous Nations of Ecuador (CONAIE), Quito, ECUADOR - $1,000

This grant responded to the urgent need of CONAIE to promote and educate Indigenous peoples about the contents and benefits of the new Law of Agricultural Reform through dissemination of informational material and educational training workshops.

National Protest and Negotiations with the Government by Indigenous Peoples in Venezuela
PEMON, Indigenous Federation of the State of Bolívar (FIB) - Bolívar, VENEZUELA - $1,000.

This grant helped the Federation organize a national march with the participation of Indigenous and non-Indigenous organizations and communities to demand nullification of the 1850 Decree and application of the 107 Convention of the OIT from the Supreme Court that guarantees the collective property of the lands traditionally occupied by Indigenous communities.

Partially Financed

Training of Agro-Ecological Promoters and Eco-Technicians to Promote Indigenous Self-Development
TZOTSIL & TZELTAL, Training Center for Self-development of Indigenous Peoples (CECADEPI), Altos Region of Chiapas, MEXICO - $15,000 ($10,000 granted by AYF.)

This program carries out training and experience exchange workshops on ecological agrarian techniques, held in the Tzotsil and Tzeltal languages, for forty farmers who will then serve as agro-ecological promoters and eco-technicians in their own villages and municipalities.

Recuperation of the Knowledge and Use of Medicinal Plants
MAYA, Renaissance of the Mayan Peoples' Knowledge Council, San José Poaquil, GUATEMALA - $24,180 ($10,000 granted by AYF.)

This project aims to revive traditional Mayan medicinal practices through: researching and documenting traditional medicinal practices; planting and harvesting native medicinal plants; implementing training workshops on the knowledge, use and cultivation of medicinal plants; and establishing a botanical pharmacy. Local biodiversity is enhanced through the re-introduction of Indigenous plants and trees.

Strengthening of Indigenous Agriculture and Nutritional Security in Five Quechua Communities
AYMARA, Amauta Indigenous Foundation - Pampahuasi Region, BOLIVIA - $12,000 ($5,000 granted by AYF)

This project will rescue and revive native agricultural practices and technologies, promote the recuperation of authentic and endangered species, improve the agricultural production, and take advantage of the diversification of the traditional agricultural resources with the aim of providing agricultural and nutritional security.

Technical Assistance Program

In addition to making grants, Abya Yala Fund provides Indigenous communities and organizations with information on sources of funding and technical support. As part of this program, we are planning to hold two more training and experience exchange meetings over the course of the next two years (Spring 1999 - 2000).

Training will include many areas related to environmental management, organizational development , and models of alternative indigenous development such as administration, communications technology, proposal writing, project management, resource management, traditional indigenous knowledge, and indigenous rights. The meetings will emphasize training to develop leadership and organizational capacity at the local level and increasing the ability of indigenous communities to find and effectively use project funding.

The first two meetings took place in Tecpán, Guatemala in December, 1997 and May 1998. Indigenous communities and organizations from Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Ecuador and Bolivia, which have implemented their own self-development models, were invited to the meeting to share their experiences, discuss what models of community development have worked and ideas about future action.

As a result of these meetings, Abya Yala Fund will publish a report on Indigenous self-development efforts in South and Meso America which will be distributed to indigenous communities and organizations, as well as to foundations and other constituents to inform them about current indigenous self-development efforts. The English version of this report will be the first edition of our new tri-annual newsletter on Indigenous Self-Development in South and Meso America, available here in Winter 1998.

Projects Needing Funding

Revitalizing the Agro-Biodiversity of the Andes
QUECHUA, Núcleo de Vigorización de la Chacra Andina "Eduardo Grillo" (NUV'CHA), Cajamarca, PERU - $28,000

This project aims to diversify the agricultural and husbandry methods of the Indigenous peoples of the Provinces of Cajamarca and Contumaza, Bolivia through improving the soil, cultivating native species, breeding of alpaca, llama and guinea-pig, and improving water usage from springs and streams.

Strengthening and Consolidation of the Ye'Kwana and Sanema Peoples' Communication Network
YE'KWANA/SANEMA, Kuyujani Organization, Autonomous Municipality of Sucre, Venezuela - $12,000

This project will install a radio communications network in 25 Ye'kwana and Sanema communities which are extremely isolated and have limited means of communication. The network will allow for emergency communications as well as cultural sharing and informational exchanges regarding development activities and events in the communities.

Video Documentation of Work with Aymara Women and Youth
AYMARA, Integral Development Center of Aymara Women (CDIMA), La Paz, BOLIVIA - $4,900

This grant will allow the Center for the Holistic Development of Aymaran Women to document through video their work with women and youth, and disseminate these locally, nationally and internationally as a means of reinforcing the values of Aymara culture.

Women's Culinary Micro-Enterprise to Promote Mapuche Culture
MAPUCHE, Mapuche Women's Group (WVFKO), Temuco, CHILE - $7,425

This cooperative of Mapuche women will create a culinary micro-enterprise that prepares traditional Mapuche food with the aim of protecting and proliferating Mapuche culture. The business will provide traditional Mapuche food for events and will promote the recovery of the distinctive culture of the Mapuche People which is rapidly being lost within the urban environment of Temuco.

Training Seminar on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua
MISKITU, Miskitu Indigenous Cultural Fund, Rio Coco, NICARAGUA - $4,700

This is a three to four-day workshop to train Indigenous community, union and student leaders from the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua to defend Indigenous rights and territories who will then train those in their communities to do the same.

Conference on Preserving Indigenous Languages
MISKITU, Miskitu Indigenous Cultural Fund, Puerto Cabezas, NICARAGUA - $4,000

This three to four-day conference will convene professors and students of Indigenous languages in the Autonomous Region of Nicaragua to analyze the amount of deterioration of the Miskitu, Sumu and Rama languages since colonization and to determine the most practical methodologies to revive those languages.

Program to Recover Mapuche Social Memory
MAPUCHE, Coliqueo Tribe, Los Toldos, ARGENTINA - $11,500

This program will train youth representatives from Mapuche communities in Argentina in methods to promote Mapuche social history, knowledge, culture and language, and to educate the public (Mapuche and non-Mapuche) about Indigenous struggles through use of an archive of stories, distribution of educational materials, and support for similar programs happening in other communities.