Last month we held 6 training workshops for the Captains of the Indigenous Reservation of the Matavén Forest, in the communities of Restrepo (Caño Kawasi Sector), Tsawaliwali (Aiwakuna Tsepajibo Sector), Sibo Chenebo (Bajo Rio Vichada 1 Sector), Sirare (Bajo Rio Vichada 2 Sector), Pueblo Nuevo Caño Colorado (Berrocal Ajota Sector) and Laguna Colorada (Barranquito Laguna Colorada Sector), with 337 indigenous peoples (242 Captains and 95 members of the communities). We noticed a positive increase of women attending the workshops (14 Captains and 9 women from the communities).
The Indigenous Reservation of the Matavén Forest has a robust internal government structure recognized by the Colombian Government: it is the Association of Councils and Traditional Indigenous Authorities of the Matavén Forest (ACATISEMA for its acronym in Spanish). The Association leads Matavén administrative, political, economic and socio-cultural processes, to contribute to the survival of its indigenous peoples, and the protection of their natural resources. The Captains are part of this structure, each Captain represents his/her indigenous community; today ACATISEMA has 315 Captains.
Indeed, we design these workshops to strengthen the Captains knowledge in governance and protection of their natural resources; so that they share this learning with their communities. The workshops were assisted by Mediamos technical team and were led by the Co-Director and the Zonal Coordinators of the Project, an indigenous group that joined the Project since the beginning and today they have a solid knowledge and the expertise to share it.
We worked on 5 main topics:
- Climate change
- REDD+ Matavén Project
- Control of deforestation, SUPAF and social cartography
- Governance and ethnic life plans
- Current situation of the REDD+ Matavén regarding Resolution 1447 of 2018
At REDD+ Matavén we work under a holistic approach emphasizing on education and gender equality, seeking to create a change in behavior towards sustainable practices, through the transfer of knowledge and the empowerment of Matavén women and men. So that they are the ones leading the Project with greater autonomy; and skilled to design and develop new Programs and Projects in the Reservation.