koef website<\/a>, \u201csince 2017, the fund has provided grants and technical assistance to over 177 indigenous-led projects in 35 countries around the world, totaling $764,317 usd.\u201d <\/p>\nthis past semester, i had the amazing opportunity to work closely with this organization as an advocacy intern, where i researched and wrote articles on various topics while providing general support on projects relating to indigenous rights. <\/p>\n
at the end of my internship, i was able to meet with bia\u2019ni to discuss the impactful work that ‘cultural survival’ and the ‘koef’ are doing for the future of indigenous rights and sustainability. <\/p>\n
when asked if there was a particular project that stood out to her, bia\u2019ni was able to share about a women\u2019s project in chiapas, mexico that is producing organic food through sustainable indigenous practices. <\/p>\n
bia\u2019ni said, \u201ci think it is really nice because the project itself is about food but it also helps to empower young women in their community.\u201d many koef-funded projects highlight gender equality in addition to supporting the revitalization of indigenous practices, because the two topics are often intertwined. <\/p>\n
when i asked her to share her favorite thing about working on the ‘koef’, bia\u2019ni stated \u201ci love having the opportunity to know a very diverse group of people. being indigenous myself, i really love the opportunity to know other people on other sides of the world, to know their culture, to know what they are doing, and also to know what they are facing or struggling with.\u201d<\/p>\n
indigenous peoples live in harmony with their environment. but according to bia\u2019ni, \u201cit is because we have been living in our territories and taking the time to get to know our land and environment.\u201d<\/p>\n
bia\u2019ni shared that this harmony is also achieved by making mistakes. she explained, \u201cwe have faced moments in our lives where we, for example, polluted the river, but we learned from those experiences and we changed what we were doing so, with time, we learned how to live more in peace with nature.\u201d<\/p>\n
bia\u2019ni cautions people not to make generalizations about indigenous peoples. she states, \u201cwe do have a lot of knowledge and it’s nice to hear that that is something that is now recognized, but what i would like for people to know is that not everyone or every culture knows everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
according to bia\u2019ni, we often incorrectly say that \u2018indigenous peoples have solutions for climate change\u2019; this is a huge generalization. <\/p>\n
bia\u2019ni says that \u201ctalking from my own experience, my territory is very specific and even though i am indigenous, i have no idea how indigenous peoples that live on the ice manage their environment.\u201d <\/p>\n
bia\u2019ni advises that, when talking about environmental solutions, \u201cto remember that we need to go to the specific cultures and not just give a general idea of \u2018oh all the indigenous peoples have knowledge\u2019 because there are all kinds of problems.\u201d <\/p>\n
it is important to remember that indigenous peoples \u201care a diverse group of people and are willing to help but also there are a lot of things that we need to learn, specifically about climate change.\u201d <\/p>\n
bia\u2019ni stated that \u201cclimate change has made indigenous people re-learn things we have been doing for a very long time.\u201d for example, today with frequent severe weather events, food cultivation has become a large problem for many communities. bia\u2019ni shared that \u201csome of our partners are currently working to develop new alternatives and knowledge to produce food in a more efficient way.\u201d<\/p>\n
at the end of our interview, bia\u2019ni left me with one piece of wisdom. in helping indigenous peoples fight for their land and for the environment, the most important thing is to learn. she said it is important, \u201cto really be able and willing to learn from the most experienced people. that is our task.\u201d <\/p>\n
i cannot say enough good things about ‘cultural survival’. the work that they are doing is directly benefiting thousands of indigenous peoples daily through the development of sustainable projects. i am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work closely with this organization and the amazing, selfless people that run it. <\/p>\n
projects like the ‘keepers of the earth fund’ are at the forefront of the fight against climate change, so we should continue to look to indigenous organizations like ‘cultural survival’ for guidance in this endeavor.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
the work of indigenous communities goes unrecognized every day. in an interview with cultural survival\u2019s bia\u2019ni madsa\u2019 ju\u00e1rez l\u00f3pez, we are able to better understand how indigenous peoples are making enormous strides in creating a more sustainable world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10125,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4916,4933],"tags":[144,3429,507,591,81],"storyfest_categories":[],"class_list":["post-11187","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-climate","category-storyfest-2022","tag-climate-change","tag-environmental-activism","tag-indigenous-peoples","tag-storyfest","tag-sustainability"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
how cultural survival promotes indigenous sustainable development - planet forward<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n