Kichwa indigenous of Sarayaku participated in the Community Cinema Workshop, activity focused on showing the community, their concerns and challenges in order to generate a communicative social process.
Rising Voices Amazonia Grantee Project Update
In the Kichwa indigenous community of Sarayaku, a community cinema workshop was held on November 13-15, 2014. The workshop was organized by El Churo Collective, which is based in the city of Quito, in conjunction with the communications team from Sarayaku.
The workshop, which was aimed at students, leaders, community residents, and other guests from other communities, was rooted in the community, their concerns, and challenges in order to create a social communicative process.
Workshop facilitators were Diana Coryat (USA), Andrea Contreras (Mexico) and Roberto Chavez (Ecuador). Final-year high school students from the Sarayaku Education Unit, communications leaders from Tayjasaruta, Domingo, Verónica, and Rául Ankuash from the “Camera Shuar” project and Shuar indigenous community from the area of communications based in the Morona Santiago province, as well as a representative from the area of communications from the collective La Resistencia Ecuador.
The workshop focused on the pre-production and production of short films with the goal of showing cultural identity, reviving legends, and translating concepts such as “Kawsak Sacha (Living Forest)” and Sumak Allpa (Fertile Earth).
Abraham Gualinga (Tayjasaruta Vice-Presidents) tells us:
[El taller] Es una importante capacitación con elementos jóvenes de la comunidad donde tenemos la oportunidad de difundir nuestra lucha y la defensa de los recursos naturales donde se desarrolla nuestra vida. También es importante difundir los derechos humanos de los pueblos originarios no solo a nivel latinoamericano, sino también a nivel mundial.
[The workshop] is an important training for young members of the community, where we have the opportunity to share our struggle and the defense of natural resources where our life unfolds. It is also important to disseminate the human rights of the indigenous peoples not only in Latin America but also worldwide.
He adds:
El Kawsak Sacha es el espacio donde se desarrolla respetuosamente el equilibrio con la naturaleza, donde tenemos todo tipo de ecosistemas, sin contaminación, donde todo tiene vida y cada ser tiene su dueño. Defender los lugares sagrados es nuestra herencia para las futuras generaciones para que sean ellos quienes continúen valorando la existencia con una forma propia de vida, cultura y tradiciones.
Kawsak Sacha is the space where the balance with nature respectfully develops, where there are all types of ecosystems, without pollution, where everything has life and each being has its owner. To defend the sacred places is our legacy for future generations so that they can be the ones that continue to value existence with their own way of life, culture, and traditions.
Sarayaku children interested in the workshop. Photo from project and used with permission.
Communication is our right and we need to share the struggle of the people, to tell our stories in the context of a true construction of an intercultural and plurinational country.
This report was originally published in Rising Voices and is republished by an agreement to share content.
