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Gonawindua Tairona has issued a formal complaint that illegal construction work is taking place at one of the special sites along the Black Line, around the mouth of the river Ancho. It has already caused serious damage and threatens the ecological stability of the whole area (and beyond). This site forms a vital part of their ancestral territory and is supposed to be protected by the government. We understand that building work is being carried out in order to build an eco hotel(!). The Kogi are calling for this to stop immediately and for the Minister for the Environment to visit the site to assess the damage.
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Gonawindua Tairona has issued a formal complaint that illegal construction work is taking place at one of the special sites along the Black Line, around the mouth of the river Ancho. It has already caused serious damage and threatens the ecological stability of the whole area (and beyond). This site forms a vital part of their ancestral territory and is supposed to be protected by the government. We understand that building work is being carried out in order to build an eco hotel(!). The Kogi are calling for this to stop immediately and for the Minister for the Environment to visit the site to assess the damage.
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We hope you are all keeping well and staying out of harm’s way in these difficult times. With much of our lives put on hold we thought we would just share with you the details of an important event for the Trust and the Kogi which took place between Sunday 23 February and Tuesday 03 March 2020 just before we all went into lockdown and the world stood still.
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Happy New Year to all our donors and supporters! The start of a new decade seems the ideal time to update you on our current activities.
In October Kogi Mama Shibulata and translator Sylvestre flew to Sweden for the first presentation of projects to the new Unesco BRIDGES commission. The meeting took place in Sigtuna and the Kogi were invited for the occasion as Unesco’s special guests.
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Happy New Year to all our donors and supporters! The start of a new decade seems the ideal time to update you on our current activities.
In October Kogi Mama Shibulata and translator Sylvestre flew to Sweden for the first presentation of projects to the new Unesco BRIDGES commission. The meeting took place in Sigtuna and the Kogi were invited for the occasion as Unesco’s special guests.
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The visit to the Sierra coincided with a follow up meeting arising from the Cross diagnosis in Drôme, southern France last September in which the Trust collaborated with the French NGO Tchendukua. One of the science delegates Patrick Degeorges has been involved with UNESCO and a working party was set up with the aim of establishing a cross-disciplinary coalition (called BRIDGES: Building Resilience in Defense of Global Environments and Societies) to launch projects connecting academic and non-academic authorities that can develop more effective global strategies to combat climate change.
Read moreThanks to everyone who helped us fund a vital meeting in the Sierra with the Kogi. This was called to agree an alliance to help ensure the defence and protection of the Kogi in the Sierra. Representatives of many of the organisations supporting the Kogi attended.
Alan has written a full report of the meeting.
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Thanks to everyone who helped us fund a vital meeting in the Sierra with the Kogi. This was called to agree an alliance to help ensure the defence and protection of the Kogi in the Sierra. Representatives of many of the organisations supporting the Kogi attended.
Alan has written a full report of the meeting.
Read more
Alan Ereira was invited to attend a conference with UNESCO which was designed to create a sustainable framework that would shape global policy making and education. the conference ended with agreement to build a consortium to create a programme of learning that would integrate views on sustainability from unusual partners. With a working group created to look at sample sites. This was something which Alan took to discuss with the Kogi when Trustees met with them in the Sierra.
Read moreThe mission of the Trust is to magnify the Kogis’ voice, to help them defend their culture and its territorial integrity and to learn from them how to better protect the planet which we all share.
The Kogi are descendants of the Tairona and are the last surviving civilization from the world of the Inca and Aztec.
They are an indigenous people who consider themselves to be the guardians of the earth and are worried by our attempts to destroy it.
The mountain - in Colombia - is their home, it is quite literally a microcosmos, a mirror of the planet on which every ecological zone is represented. The impact of the modern world is affecting their environment and from their vantage point on the mountain they can see how this is damaging the rest of the planet.
The Trust needs your help to support this mission.
From The Heart of the World: The Elder Brother's Warning
Watch the first film made by Alan Ereira and the BBC in 1990 about the ancient Kogi civilisation from the Sierra Nevada De Santa Marta, Colombia.
Aluna:
The Movie
The follow up film was made 25 years later at the request of the Kogi Mamas because they said we had not heard them the first time.
1
We will offer the Kogi a way to communicate directly with the wider world.
2
We will respond to, and publicise, requests by the Kogi for help in protecting their territory and culture.
3
We will learn from the Kogi about their understanding of environmental management and publicise that knowledge through all media.
4
We will implement initiatives to educate young people about the principles and way of life of the Kogi in order to protect the planet for future generations.
Support UsThe Kogi message is important for us all. They consider themselves to be the guardians of the earth and are worried by our attempts to destroy it. They want their voice and knowledge to be heard around the world and for us to take action to protect the planet that we all share. The Kogi need your help to do this.