Reviving water in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta
Kogi Mamas (spiritual leaders) and non-indigenous scientists are coming together to identify, assess, and regenerate degraded pieces of land and dried water sources.
“The earth is a living body. Damaging certain places damages the whole body.”
— Mama Pedro Juan, Kogi spiritual leader
The Kogi were among the first peoples to experience the onslaught of the Spanish invasion following Columbus’ landing in the territory we now call Columbia in 1499.
After the Spanish landed, the region attracted an uninterrupted series of Spanish plunderers who attacked, murdered and robbed the native people, stealing their gold and sailing back… In the 1960s the country suffered from armed conflict between government forces, leftist guerrillas and right wing paramilitaries…
This increased pressure on the isolated Kogi and Arhuaco communities led to the destruction and contamination of their lands. A final peace agreement was not signed until 2016, but it remains to be seen whether this is sufficient to hold back rapid development in an area of significant natural resources. The Kogi (and the Arhuaco) continue to claim back and cleanse their lands and warn Younger Brother about the damage we continue to inflict on the planet.
— Source: https://www.taironatrust.org/about-the-kogi/history
They have survived by relying on their own traditional way of life under the guidance of their leaders, or Mamas, and shunning the outside world.
Personal Connection
We learned about the Kogi’s environmental efforts from our Guiding Council member and beloved comrade, Wahinkpe Topa (Four Arrows) who wrote:
The Kogi’s water project so aligns with Proven Sustainable as a
contemporary contribution of utmost importance. Proven Sustainable is the go
to place to learn about what is happening in the world. For example, even
the Chumash of California have proven to reduce water usage per capita more
than all communities in California. I asked the chair in a public meeting
with state congressmen if Indigenous worldview was a factor and he replied
with a smile, "It was the main driver."
Their perspective and environmental views are further covered in the following video narrated by him.
The Múnekaň Masha Project
Watching local environments incrementally degrade over the last 30 years, the Kogi decided they needed to share their knowledge on how to manage the land.
Múnekaň Masha (‘let it be (re)born’) is a three-year, transdisciplinary, collaborative, ecological restoration project, endorsed by the UNESCO BRIDGES Coalition.
The joint venture between the Kogi Mamas (spiritual leaders) and non-indigenous scientists intends to put Kogi indigenous ecological practices and natural scientific conservation into dialogue, supported and mediated by anthropological expertise, to jointly identify, assess, and regenerate degraded pieces of land, in particular dried water sources.
The title “Múnekaň Masha” follows the Kogi premise that their ancestral territory is a living, conscious entity that guides its own regeneration, constituting forces that humans need to allow to be (re-)born.
Learn more about the history, science and goals of Múnekaň Masha project through the video below.
Beyond the Múnekaň Masha project, the Tairona Trust helps preserve and protect the indigenous knowledge and people of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia through various initiatives.
The long-form documentary below is by the Kogi on their efforts to repair the torn fabric of the world.
If you want to engage more closely with continuing financial support, you can directly email taironatrust@aol.com to speak with project liaison Alan Ereira.
We hope that you will consider learning more about the projects we’re featuring and supporting them. We look forward to sharing our future posts on themes of food sovereignty, language preservation and more!
If you found this insightful, inspiring, or thought-prokoking in any way…
We’d love to hear your thought! We’ll respond!
The Proven Sustainable™ Conversation Series is a fiscally sponsored project of the Center for Transformative Action, a 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization.
This is such an important project with which we begin our thematic series of newsletter. The elder brother, the Kogi, are a shining light on what it means to be truly sustainable in the face of 500 years of colonization. Gratitude to Four Arrows for brining Munekan Masha to our attention and to Alan Ereira for shepherding their messages to the younger brothers for such a long time.