Kankuamo Women Preserve Their Community Thanks to Technology
We tend to believe that indigenous communities use information and communication technologies, or the Internet, very little or not at all, due to their beliefs.
The Woman Post | Maria Claudia Londoño
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The Kankuamo are located in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, in Colombia. They have a group of 20 indigenous communicators from the twelve communities that make up the reservation, including Atanquez, Guatapurí, Chemesquemena, and La Mina, who have dedicated themselves to preserving their traditions and customs, recording them in digital media and electronic devices to rescue the essence of their communities. They learned how to use cameras, tape recorders, and computers and even gave life to the Tayrona Estéreo radio station “voice of indigenous unity” in Atanquez, and they have gradually been training young people in the use of these media and platforms, so that they can record the knowledge of the elderly on their own and leave a record of their daily lives, managing to overcome their fears and initial prevention towards the use of new technologies.
Gonawindua is the name of an event held this year, which brought together various content producers of various ethnic groups to share their work such as documentaries, podcasts, feature films, and other audiovisual productions of great interest and cultural and social value, including both men and women.
The women have actively participated in meetings of leaders of the different indigenous peoples of the Sierra Nevada Kankuamas, Wiwas, Arhuacas, and Kogis, among Sagas, young people, traditional and spiritual authorities, teachers, and communicators, who keep records on digital channels such as YouTube.
This is possible in part, thanks to the Cooperation Agreement FORUM FOR WOMEN AND DEVELOPMENT (FOKUS) 2019-2022 and the Indigenous Council of the Kankuamo Reservation, within the "Women, Peace and Security 1325" Program; Project: "Women Weavers and Cultivators of Peace", headed by its Coordinator ROSA MANUELA MONTERO.
The focus on women's participation is conceived as a valuable complement, as a dynamic agent and articulator towards a peacebuilding approach in their territory.
Also read: ARE YOU PREY TO THE STIGMA OF THE SUPERWOMAN?
Next September 5, the international day of indigenous women will be celebrated again, when dances, craft shows, and meetings of dialogue and spirituality will take place.
To learn more about this community in the beautiful territory of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta in Colombia, we can access the content on their social networks: @tayronaestereo, @cabildo indigenous of the Kankuamo people, @elAtanquero, among others, and the channel on YouTube called "El Mochilón TV", where they show the daily life of the ethnic group, and content related to its gastronomy, crafts, dances, music, in addition to the natural settings of the region considered by them as the "heart of the world"
