Intercultural Piaroa School of Tribal Wisdom
Donation protected
The Piaroa tribe of the Venezuelan Amazonas is constructing their first ever intercultural, bilingual school. Its curriculum is based on the ancient traditions and Cosmovision of the Piaroa people. Classes will be taught in Piaroa and in spanish, and offered for free to all children of the Piaroa tribe. 
Members of the The Uwöttöja Yawarapo community, part of the larger Piaroa tribe of Venezuela.
No tribe in Venezuela has ever constructed its own, official school. This school will be registered with the government and will offer subjects as diverse as cultural communication, natural medicine, agriculture, technologies, astronomy, mathematics, arts, and Piaroa language, spoken and written.
Classes will be taught by the elders of the tribe whose knowledge of their ancient traditions is invaluable. And by passing on this knowledge, we can ensure that this cultural inheritance of the world is preserved and expands for future generations.
Children from all surrounding communities are permitted to attend at no cost, and classes will eventually be offered to adults for free as well.
We need your help to purchase the materials for the school. The Piaroa themselves will construct the school in the form of their traditional temple churuata:
They will also construct two other rooms that will serve as a medicinal plant laboratory and a natural foods production room. These rooms will serve to teach the children the process of natural medicine and food production with the native foods and plants of the jungle. As well, they will serve to make products that can be sold by the Piaroa to help sustain their tribe in the very difficult Venezuelan economic climate.
The Churuta Design
All donations go directly toward purchasing the materials for the construction of the school. The Piaroa will send regular photos of materials purchased and progress in construction to all those who donate, with updates being posted at the bottom of this page. The Peruvian NGO Rueda Sagrada is partnering with the Piaroa tribe to facilitate the promotion of the project and to help seek donors as the Piaroa live in a very remote area of Venezuela with no internet or facilities to complete this work.
My name is Adrienne Spivak, I have been living in the Rueda Sagrada NGO and community for almost ten years. I have personally lived with the Piaroa for a period of time, and our NGO has a deep and continual connection with the Piaroa. Because GoFundMe cannot send funds directly to Venezuela, I am collecting the funds in the US to facilitate their transfer to the Piaroa in Venezuela.
This school project was the dream of the late Don Bolivar, the great master shaman and leader of the tribe who lived to be 120 years old. His dream is being carried out by his wife Doña Helena, 93, who will be one of the principle teachers in the school, as well as their son, Don Juan, the shaman pictured in the photos above, and other members of the tribe.
Don Bolivar and Doña Helena
Please help us to realize this dream which will be a cultural, spiritual, and educational gift to humanity.
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With donations received so far, the Piaroa have been able to buy chainsaws and other supplies and start construction on the school! They are extremely grateful for everyone who has contributed to helping them manifest this dream. Please help us to continue supporting their progress!
Here are photos of the churuata for classes and of the meeting/dining hall that have been built with the help of your donations.
This is the roof structure for the school
Members of the The Uwöttöja Yawarapo community, part of the larger Piaroa tribe of Venezuela.
No tribe in Venezuela has ever constructed its own, official school. This school will be registered with the government and will offer subjects as diverse as cultural communication, natural medicine, agriculture, technologies, astronomy, mathematics, arts, and Piaroa language, spoken and written.
Classes will be taught by the elders of the tribe whose knowledge of their ancient traditions is invaluable. And by passing on this knowledge, we can ensure that this cultural inheritance of the world is preserved and expands for future generations.
Children from all surrounding communities are permitted to attend at no cost, and classes will eventually be offered to adults for free as well.
We need your help to purchase the materials for the school. The Piaroa themselves will construct the school in the form of their traditional temple churuata:
They will also construct two other rooms that will serve as a medicinal plant laboratory and a natural foods production room. These rooms will serve to teach the children the process of natural medicine and food production with the native foods and plants of the jungle. As well, they will serve to make products that can be sold by the Piaroa to help sustain their tribe in the very difficult Venezuelan economic climate.
The Churuta Design
All donations go directly toward purchasing the materials for the construction of the school. The Piaroa will send regular photos of materials purchased and progress in construction to all those who donate, with updates being posted at the bottom of this page. The Peruvian NGO Rueda Sagrada is partnering with the Piaroa tribe to facilitate the promotion of the project and to help seek donors as the Piaroa live in a very remote area of Venezuela with no internet or facilities to complete this work.
My name is Adrienne Spivak, I have been living in the Rueda Sagrada NGO and community for almost ten years. I have personally lived with the Piaroa for a period of time, and our NGO has a deep and continual connection with the Piaroa. Because GoFundMe cannot send funds directly to Venezuela, I am collecting the funds in the US to facilitate their transfer to the Piaroa in Venezuela.
This school project was the dream of the late Don Bolivar, the great master shaman and leader of the tribe who lived to be 120 years old. His dream is being carried out by his wife Doña Helena, 93, who will be one of the principle teachers in the school, as well as their son, Don Juan, the shaman pictured in the photos above, and other members of the tribe.
Don Bolivar and Doña Helena
Please help us to realize this dream which will be a cultural, spiritual, and educational gift to humanity.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
With donations received so far, the Piaroa have been able to buy chainsaws and other supplies and start construction on the school! They are extremely grateful for everyone who has contributed to helping them manifest this dream. Please help us to continue supporting their progress!
Here are photos of the churuata for classes and of the meeting/dining hall that have been built with the help of your donations.
This is the roof structure for the school
Organizer
Adrienne Spivak
Organizer
Castle Rock, CO