Supporting the small community of Uvinje (Tanzania) in their long battle to secure the rightful ownership of their village land
Uvinje is a tiny coastal community located 135 km north of Dar es Salaam since the 17th century. The community has weathered multiple challenges, including a dramatic decline in fishing due to depletion of stocks by commercial enterprises. Today, it … Read more
Strengthening Similipal Peoples’ Parliament (India) in its own biosphere reserve
Gram Swaraj– a civil society organization in Odisha, in the east coast of India– works to address core issues of ecological restoration, self governance and human development. Presently the organisation focuses efforts in Similipal biosphere reserve (Mayurbhnaj district), a large … Read more
The Oran Resource Centre— a source of community empowerment in Rajastan (India)
‘Oran’ is a term used for a local « micro » biodiversity reserve at village level, often harbouring the shrine of a local goddess or deity. Such local forests vary in size from a hundred to five hundred bighas (about … Read more
The indigenous peoples of Brazil—continuing the struggle to obtain the respect of their rights
This initiative provides support to two events where indigenous leaders will be strengthened in their struggle to secure the right to live in their customary territories. The first event is a mobilization, to be held in the second half of … Read more
Chief Vyacheslav Shadrin: constantly on the move for the rights of indigenous peoples in Russia
Chief Vyacheslav Shadrin is Chairperson of the Yukaghir Council of Elders, of the Republic of Sakha-Yakutia, in Russia. Since the late days of the Soviet Union, Chief Shadrin has systematically advanced the cause of the indigenous peoples and communities of … Read more
Tapio Kalli: working tirelessly to restore the ecological status of the Kuivasjärvi watershed (Finland)
Mr. Tapio Kalli, long-time leader of the fishermen of lake Kuivasjärvi, lives in Kuivasjärvi village (Parkano municipality, appr. 287 kms northwest of Helsinki, Finland). He is in his late 60s.
Doctor Elias Lönnrot, compiler of the national Epic of Finland … Read more
Felicia Barriento Cuellar: strengthening indigenous women for culture and nature in the Chaco region of Bolivia
Felicia Barrientos Cuellar is a brave indigenous woman from the Isoseño-Guarani people. There are three key aspects of her life’s work that greatly helped to enhance intra and inter community solidarity and contributed to improving the life of the Isoseño … Read more
Alassane Zoumaru: inventing a Taneka cultural bank for collective memory and social cohesion (Benin)
Descendant of the Gnam-nê clan– rainmakers and family of great traditional priests and keepers of the timing of agricultural production in Benin– Alassane Zoumarou, is heir of a rich history and many artistic and cultural values. Very young, he expressed … Read more
The Ntinga Ntaba ka Ndoda: a “decent life of dignity” for all communities (South Africa)
Ntinga Ntaba ka Ndoda is a community-owned and democratically controlled movement that incubates, catalyses and facilitates participatory democracy and sustainable rural development, drawing its members from 13 villages in Keiskammahoek south, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.
With … Read more
The Qalang Smangus community: collective governance to sustainably manage the natural commons in the mountains of Taiwan
The small village of Qalang Smangus is home to a tribe of Atayal indigenous people in a mountainous area of northern Taiwan. Their great achievement of the last twenty years is their own evolution as a sustainable community that gains … Read more
