Brazil
Sustainable Income Alternatives in the Médio Rio Negro II Indigenous Reserve
In 2008, ACT helped the 16 communities of the Médio Rio Negro II Indigenous Reserve of the Brazilian state of Amazonas draft and publish their reserve management plan, which includes a sustainable development income generation component. In October 2009, ACT provided the indigenous community representatives, united under their association ACIR, with a five-day capacity building workshop in artisan handicrafts design and marketing. Also collaborating were representatives of the national environmental agency ICMBio and the prominent Brazilian NGO ISA. At the conclusion, the indigenous participants proposed the creation of a united handicrafts marketing cooperative among all communities to more effectively promote their products. Read more about the Rio Negro II Indigenous Reserve
Sustainable Income Alternatives for the Suruí: Coffee Processing
The Suruí people of the western Brazilian Amazon urgently need help to develop alternatives to the illegal logging and soybean farming that drive the local economy. To complement its reserve management plan, the Suruí association Metareilá is preparing a plan for sustainable income generation emphasizing non-timber forest products for local and national markets as well as certification and marketing of organic coffee. In 2009, ACT helped to construct a building to house a coffee grounds processing machine within one of the main Suruí villages as well as to maintain the equipment. The construction of infrastructure for coffee processing in Suruí territory has enabled greater reach of the processing of Suruí coffee. By locating the machine in the Suruí territory, more Suruí families have access to this value-added service, reducing transportation costs and expanding much-needed income generation in the Suruí territory. Over 50 Suruí families are benefitting. Read more about the Suruí and their Lands
Suruí People Partner with ACT, Google to Receive Land Survey Data Collection Training
In September 2009, over five days, representatives of the Suruí people of the western Brazilian Amazon were trained to manage Google's Android cellular phones--in tandem with specialized survey data collection software--for use in environmental protection, vigilance and surveillance activities, including survey diagnostics and the Suruí carbon credit project. These activities were realized in partnership with IDESAM, Forest Trends, Kanindé, Google, Aliança da Terra, the University of Washington, IDAM, and Rhiza Labs. Read more about the Suruí and their Lands
Red Cross Invites ACT-Trained Park Guards to First-Response Training
In 2009, ACT-trained Park Guards from Brazil's Amapá State participated in a 60-hour course in medical first-response training. The course was designed by the Brazilian Red Cross (CVB) to increase the ability of relief workers in rural areas to deliver first aid. 30 ACT-trained guards participated in the session, which included instruction in CPR, anatomy, physiology, and first aid as well as exercises in rescue operations. As part of the partnership between ACT and the CVB, CVB staff have participated in ACT's park guard training courses to improve their ability to operate in the extreme environments of the region. Read more about ACT's Park Guard Training
Google Earth Training in the Xingu
Following Google Earth training sessions with the Suruí people of Rondônia, ACT has extended similar training to its indigenous partners in the Xingu Indigenous Reserve. The training is a natural next step towards boosting our partners' capacity to independently monitor their lands from illegal encroachment and to communicate to authorities in the event of such an incursion. The sessions include training in the Google Earth application as well as general computing skills since familiarity with computers varies greatly within rural indigenous villages. Typically, training begins with a review of general computing skills to make sure all participants possess general computer competency. This is followed by an introduction to Google Earth and its various functions. As users become more experienced with Google Earth, GPS data can be incorporated into the program for deeper information analysis. Read more about ACT's work in the Xingu
Colombia
Land Management Plans
The creation of the Orito Ingi-Ande Flora Sanctuary in southwest Colombia by the Colombian government, which resulted from extensive participation from the Kofán people and ACT, became the Amazon's first protected area designed specifically for the preservation of medicinal plants ( read the press release ). The Kofán people and other indigenous communities are heavily reliant on these plants for physical health and for perpetuating many elements of their culture. Now that the reserve has legal recognition, ACT is facilitating the development of the reserve's land management plan, which will involve co-management responsibilities by the Kofán communities in tandem with the Colombian National Park Service. With a plan in place that includes strategies for monitoring by local indigenous populations, the sanctuary will enjoy real on-the-ground protection and management.
Land Purchase to Preserve Salt Lick
Like humans, parrots and other birds need a certain amount of salt in their diets to maintain their physical health. Throughout the Colombian Amazon there are patches of exposed earth that have been found to have high concentrations of sodium and other minerals sought by other animals including parrots. During certain seasons and hours of the day, hundreds of parrots can be found at a single salt lick to feed on the saline-rich soil deposits. Local indigenous communities hold the salt licks in high esteem as well, viewing them as sacred sites. As development activities bring about increased levels of deforestation, they diminish the habitats and resources that animals like parrots depend on for their survival. During ACT's land management efforts with our indigenous partners in Colombia, we were alerted by our Inga partners of an extraordinary salt lick in close proximity to, but outside the limits of their reserve. Through the generosity of ACT donors, we were able to purchase this land in order to adjoin it to the San Miguel indigenous reserve and protect it. The property purchased encompassed 170 acres, which have since connected other land purchases in the area to form conservation corridors.
Women Healers Hold Annual Meeting
In March 2009, the Colombian Union of Women Healers (ASOMI) held their sixth annual meeting involving its full membership. The 40-strong organization meets yearly to review progress made in preserving aspects of their medical and cultural knowledge, in advancing their handicraft production and sustainable agricultural projects, and in providing support to those of their membership in great poverty. Since its creation in 2004, ACT has helped the women to meet on a regular basis, provided administrative training, funded infrastructure maintenance and supported elderly women healers. To further the capacity of ASOMI, ACT built a 120-person center to function as the group's meeting space, to host public events and to provide overnight facilities. Read more about the Women Healers
Suriname
Water Distribution System for Traditional Medicine Clinic
The traditional medicine clinics that ACT has helped establish in southern Suriname currently host thousands of patient visits annually. However, their remote location poses challenges for centralized water distribution. To address this need, a water collection and distribution system was devised and installed to provide water for the largest of the four clinics in Suriname in the village of Kwamalasamutu in order to bring this essential resource to the health care practitioners in the clinic. Read more about the traditional medicine clinics
Women in Suriname Assume Leadership for Pepper Project
Stemming from a request by indigenous community members to assist them in the development of income-generating activities, ACT helped the village of Tepu to develop a women-led pepper project for marketing in the capital city. After many months of training in business administration and marketing, the project was officially handed over to community members for continued management and development. Hot peppers from local plants are cultivated in the village in a growing facility, then dried, crushed and packaged for distribution in Paramaribo. ACT will continue in an advisory capacity.
Indigenous Park Guard Effort in Suriname Receives Government Support
In November 2008, with ACT's guidance, the Nature Conservation Division (Natuurbeheer) of Suriname's Ministry of Natural Resources held the first officially recognized training course in Suriname for indigenous park guards. 14 park guards from three villages of the interior of Suriname took part in the first phase of park guard training. The session included training alongside wild game wardens from Suriname's national parks in fire prevention, two-way radio operations, infrastructure maintenance, tourism management, land-use monitoring, education and outreach. Park guard training was extended into other neighboring villages in 2009. The agreement with the Government of Suriname marks an important step towards incorporating indigenous communities in the stewardship of the nation's natural resources. Previously, indigenous park guards from Suriname participated in the park guard training sessions held by ACT in Brazil. The partnership with the government of Suriname has granted the fledgling park guard program official recognition and support, and allowed the program to flourish in its own right. Read more about our park guard training initiatives
