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The creation and sale of handcrafted goods enables us to preserve our customs. We realize that if we don’t teach our daughters and granddaughters our weaving techniques, our designs and our stories, we could lose our culture forever.
CATALOG
Interface of Waoranis and Western Culture
There has been a large amount of extraction of wood from our territory, including within the Yasuni Park and the zone of Yasuni where it is absolutely prohibited.
There have been violent conflicts between loggers, the Waorani and groups that have chosen to live isolated from all other people. Although the Waorani women are unilaterally opposed to the cutting down and selling of trees in our territory, the logging continues.
According to some investigations, the majority of the wood goes to Colombia. The wood being taken out is of very high quality and valuable. more information
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WORK AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF AMWAE
The Waorani women of Ecuador, in order to fully participate in the process of defining their relationship with contemporary society, and in order to manage projects for their benefit, came together to form the Asociacion de Mujeres Waorani de la Amazonia Ecuatoriana (AMWAE) (Association of Waorani Women of the Ecuadorean Amazon). AMWAE was founded in January 2005. Protected by the Constitution and laws, it was legally recognized by the Consejo Nacional de Mujeres (CONAMU) (National Council of Women) through Resolution 825.
AMWAE’s principle objectives are: to support programs leading to the improvement of artisanal work and ecological, natural and cultural tourism, in order to benefit Waorani families; in addition, to promote projects and programs for the support and revival of customs and ancestral knowledge, while improving the quality of life of Waorani women.more information
The Waorani Nation
The jungle is our house, our home. It’s also the habitat of thousands of plants and animals, including monkeys, tapirs, scarlet macaws and pink dolphins. The tropical rain forest of our territory is one of the most biodiverse in the world. Learn more… more information
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HOW TO CONTRIBUTE TO
the Cultural Preservation of the Waoranis
Although dozens of anthropologists, photographers, and cinematographers have come to our territories to take photos and write their theses, the majority have not given us copies of their work. They have profited from our people, but have not provided us with information or have not done projects that are useful to us.
AMWAE is always looking for funds, projects and volunteers to help Waoranis today.
Find out more about our work in these three representative areas:
Handcrafted goods are an important alternative source of income for the women in the Waorani communities of Ecuador
We have succeeded in meeting a number of the needs of our communities through various projects. Read more…
We help individuals and groups with the logistics and planning of "volunteer tours” to one of the 32 communities in our territory.
Problems of Today
Various challenges present themselves in the future of our community. To preserve our way of life, we must confront problems today like the extraction of large quantities of wood from our territory, including from the Yasuni Park and the zone of Yasuni where it is absolutely prohibited. There have been violent conflicts between loggers, Waorani and groups that have chosen to live isolated from all other people. Although the Waorani women are unilaterally opposed to the cutting down and selling of trees in our territory, the logging continues.
But that’s not the only problem. Learn more about other current problems…more information
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