Colombia's Amazon indigenous groups train youth to defend rainforest by Anastasia Moloney @anastas
by Anastasia Moloney | @anastasiabogota | Thomson Reuters Foundation
Thursday, 10 February 2022 02:07 GMT
Creating a next generation of Amazon indigenous leaders is key to preserving fast-vanishing tropical forests. Here's how remote communities are trying
By Anastasia Moloney
MIRITI-PARANA, Colombia Feb 10 (Thomson Reuters Foundation)- - Scurrying nimbly through thick Colombian Amazon rainforest, teenager Pablo Galindo Tanimuca abruptly slows his pace and puts a finger to his lips, asking for silence as he approaches a small salt-water pond regarded as sacred by his indigenous community.
"This is a special place for me. Shamans come here to think," the 17-year-old whispered, as a flock of screeching parrots swooshed above the high jungle canopy.
Galindo, a member of the small Tanimuca ethnic group of about 300 people living in this remote indigenous reserve in Colombia's southeastern Amazonas province, feels a strong sense of belonging to his community and culture.
"The forest is my home," he said, explaining that he aims to remain in Puerto Guayabo, his community of about 35 families nestled in near-pristine rainforest.
More:
https://news.trust.org/item/20220209141114-o4u3i/
