Sustainable living and climate change - La Guajira
Donation protected
Climate change and sustainable living in the Guajira
What is the problem?
Embraced between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, Colombia benefits from a vast range of water resources and it is classified as the second most biodiverse country in the world.
However, a big part of its territory is facing great environmental changes with unprecedented impacts.
The North of Colombia hosts the Guajira desert, one of the driest regions in the country, hit, in recent years, by a strong drought, but still home to almost 145.000 Wayuu, an Indigenous American Ethnic group of the Guajira Peninsula.
The livelihood of the Wayuu people is based on activities such as fishing, livestock and farming but severe environmental changes are recently impacting the survival of local communities, forcing them to adapt their traditional practices.
The state of emergency in the Guajira was declared when, during a months-long period, temperature increases and lack of rainfall led to a level of water scarcity and undernourishment hardly registered before. Even thus such conditions are sometimes due to natural climate phenomena (seawater and atmosphere currents), they have been exacerbated by the reality of climate change.
Because the Wayuu people strongly rely on natural resources' availability, they are very vulnerable to climate change.
Besides, episodes of social injustice have been threatening their life: an example is the forced acquisition of lands due to the” Cerrejon” opening, the biggest carbon mine of South America, absorbing most of the remaining water resource in the region.
In order to protect their livelihood and face such challenges, they need to strengthen their resilience against climate change and develop a sustainable adaptation plan.
Why this project?
Conceived as a first pilot program designed to be followed by future research, this project aims to identify local perceptions about climate change impacts in order to include indigenous communities in the definition of climate change adaptation policies.
Local indicators are necessary to identify climate change patterns and trends, and native people know best how their environment is changing over time.
The qualitative data collected through participatory methods, place-based observations and interviews will be presented to local and international institutions for the proposal of future vulnerability and adaptation assessment research. As the country is moving toward a more sustainable development, national adaptation actions need to be considered in the light of specific contexts' needs and challenges.
How does the process look like?
The project team will be living with the indigenous population in their “rancherias” for two weeks, exchanging knowledge, experiences and learning about their traditional practices.
Through the development of a 10-days participatory workshop based on the “tejido”, their ancestral handcraft art the Wayuu master as best manufacturers, a dialog about local perceptions on environmental changes and adaptation processes will be built with the community.
During the workshop, we will ask the participants which changes they experience the most and how they cope with it. The most impacted elements from the natural environment or the Wayuu's daily life will be weaved, creating a new form of storytelling.
Through the definition of a new narrative, the "tejido" will represent a tool for the Wayuu to artistically communicate the changes in their physical, biological and socio-economic systems.
Moreover, great importance will be given to the empowerment of the Wayuu women, whose role is fundamental in the definition of their communities’ sustainable development and resilience improvement.
The textile pieces produced during the workshop will be shipped, exposed and sold in Bogota and Europe (Berlin/Barcelona), and the whole profit will be devolved to the Wayuu community. The exhibition of the art pieces will give the indigenous community a voice outside their territories, to tell their stories and increase awareness about the reality they deal with every day. We want to give space for expression to those people who stand at the front line of climate change.
In the second part of the project, we plan to shoot a reportage to visually present the socio-ecological issues belonging to such reality with a local perspective. We reserve our decision to fund this second step of the project later on.
Calendar of activities and topics for the reportage have already been defined. For detailed information about this please contact us.
What are the expected results and benefits?
Linking indigenous knowledge, traditional practices and participatory based research (map/cartography; workshops; interviews), the project expects to:
- identify local indicators of climate change to inform adaptation policies and future research;
- inform scientists and policy-makers about how indigenous knowledge can help climate research;
- help local communities towards sustainable economic development – future self-sufficiency through textile activities -;
- empower the Wayuu women in the development of their communities
- Produce and offer “storytelling” artisanal products to build socio-ecological awareness of the Guajira context
- increase visual awareness through the creation of a reportage/documentary.
What is the budget breakdown and why your donation is so important?
This is a voluntary self-financed project. We, the Apunaja Foundation and I, decided to develop such activity based on the available resources, but a fundraising campaign was necessary for the full implementation of the project. This is how your donations will be used:
- Research team logistic and transport to and within the study area = €370
[Main transportation from Europe to Colombia is self-financed, but financial support is needed to move around the desert. The rancheria where we will be working is located in a remote area, reachable only with paid private transportations. This is among the few economic activities local people live from. Transportation will be needed several times per week.]
- Survival basic goods (food and water) for the project group= €300
[As an arid region with very few resources, food and water become more expensive than in coastal areas.]
- Textile material: papers and colors, yarns and needles= €170
[This material is necessary for the implementation and development of the workshops with local women and children. The art pieces resulting from these works will be sold in Europe, and the profit will be devolved to the community.]
- Art products transportation to Bogota = €50
- Art products transportation to Europe = €100
- Extra costs = €210
[The Wayuu are very great hosts and excited to be part of an empowering project. Nevertheless, we are willing to donate and share with them essential goods (mostly food and water) as a “thank you” for hosting us and participating in our project]
The implementation of our project will not be possible without your support!! The Apunaja Foundation thanks all of you for your help.
Any form of support is more than welcome!
What is the problem?
Embraced between the Caribbean Sea and the Pacific Ocean, Colombia benefits from a vast range of water resources and it is classified as the second most biodiverse country in the world.
However, a big part of its territory is facing great environmental changes with unprecedented impacts.
The North of Colombia hosts the Guajira desert, one of the driest regions in the country, hit, in recent years, by a strong drought, but still home to almost 145.000 Wayuu, an Indigenous American Ethnic group of the Guajira Peninsula.
The livelihood of the Wayuu people is based on activities such as fishing, livestock and farming but severe environmental changes are recently impacting the survival of local communities, forcing them to adapt their traditional practices.
The state of emergency in the Guajira was declared when, during a months-long period, temperature increases and lack of rainfall led to a level of water scarcity and undernourishment hardly registered before. Even thus such conditions are sometimes due to natural climate phenomena (seawater and atmosphere currents), they have been exacerbated by the reality of climate change.
Because the Wayuu people strongly rely on natural resources' availability, they are very vulnerable to climate change.
Besides, episodes of social injustice have been threatening their life: an example is the forced acquisition of lands due to the” Cerrejon” opening, the biggest carbon mine of South America, absorbing most of the remaining water resource in the region.
In order to protect their livelihood and face such challenges, they need to strengthen their resilience against climate change and develop a sustainable adaptation plan.
Why this project?
Conceived as a first pilot program designed to be followed by future research, this project aims to identify local perceptions about climate change impacts in order to include indigenous communities in the definition of climate change adaptation policies.
Local indicators are necessary to identify climate change patterns and trends, and native people know best how their environment is changing over time.
The qualitative data collected through participatory methods, place-based observations and interviews will be presented to local and international institutions for the proposal of future vulnerability and adaptation assessment research. As the country is moving toward a more sustainable development, national adaptation actions need to be considered in the light of specific contexts' needs and challenges.
How does the process look like?
The project team will be living with the indigenous population in their “rancherias” for two weeks, exchanging knowledge, experiences and learning about their traditional practices.
Through the development of a 10-days participatory workshop based on the “tejido”, their ancestral handcraft art the Wayuu master as best manufacturers, a dialog about local perceptions on environmental changes and adaptation processes will be built with the community.
During the workshop, we will ask the participants which changes they experience the most and how they cope with it. The most impacted elements from the natural environment or the Wayuu's daily life will be weaved, creating a new form of storytelling.
Through the definition of a new narrative, the "tejido" will represent a tool for the Wayuu to artistically communicate the changes in their physical, biological and socio-economic systems.
Moreover, great importance will be given to the empowerment of the Wayuu women, whose role is fundamental in the definition of their communities’ sustainable development and resilience improvement.
The textile pieces produced during the workshop will be shipped, exposed and sold in Bogota and Europe (Berlin/Barcelona), and the whole profit will be devolved to the Wayuu community. The exhibition of the art pieces will give the indigenous community a voice outside their territories, to tell their stories and increase awareness about the reality they deal with every day. We want to give space for expression to those people who stand at the front line of climate change.
In the second part of the project, we plan to shoot a reportage to visually present the socio-ecological issues belonging to such reality with a local perspective. We reserve our decision to fund this second step of the project later on.
Calendar of activities and topics for the reportage have already been defined. For detailed information about this please contact us.
What are the expected results and benefits?
Linking indigenous knowledge, traditional practices and participatory based research (map/cartography; workshops; interviews), the project expects to:
- identify local indicators of climate change to inform adaptation policies and future research;
- inform scientists and policy-makers about how indigenous knowledge can help climate research;
- help local communities towards sustainable economic development – future self-sufficiency through textile activities -;
- empower the Wayuu women in the development of their communities
- Produce and offer “storytelling” artisanal products to build socio-ecological awareness of the Guajira context
- increase visual awareness through the creation of a reportage/documentary.
What is the budget breakdown and why your donation is so important?
This is a voluntary self-financed project. We, the Apunaja Foundation and I, decided to develop such activity based on the available resources, but a fundraising campaign was necessary for the full implementation of the project. This is how your donations will be used:
- Research team logistic and transport to and within the study area = €370
[Main transportation from Europe to Colombia is self-financed, but financial support is needed to move around the desert. The rancheria where we will be working is located in a remote area, reachable only with paid private transportations. This is among the few economic activities local people live from. Transportation will be needed several times per week.]
- Survival basic goods (food and water) for the project group= €300
[As an arid region with very few resources, food and water become more expensive than in coastal areas.]
- Textile material: papers and colors, yarns and needles= €170
[This material is necessary for the implementation and development of the workshops with local women and children. The art pieces resulting from these works will be sold in Europe, and the profit will be devolved to the community.]
- Art products transportation to Bogota = €50
- Art products transportation to Europe = €100
- Extra costs = €210
[The Wayuu are very great hosts and excited to be part of an empowering project. Nevertheless, we are willing to donate and share with them essential goods (mostly food and water) as a “thank you” for hosting us and participating in our project]
The implementation of our project will not be possible without your support!! The Apunaja Foundation thanks all of you for your help.
Any form of support is more than welcome!
Fundraising team: Apunaja Foundation (3)
Beatrice Meo
Organizer
Sandra Blanco
Team member
Julián Neira Carreño
Team member