Sarayaku Leadership: Wisdom of the Elders, Power of the Youth

Running Time: 00:06:16 | Categories: LifeMosaic Resources, COVID-19 and Indigenous Peoples, Self Determined Development, Community Organising, Leadership and Governance,

Community members from Sarayaku in Ecuador discuss what leadership means to them, and how it is practised in their territory.

Languages: English

Leaders of the Next Generation

The Next Generation Indigenous Peoples Leadership Training took place in Sungai Utik longhouse in March 2014 bringing together over 20 young indigenous leaders from the Philippines and Indonesia including participants from Sungai Utik itself. This is a short film about the training. (AMAN / The Samdhana Institute / LifeMosaic, 2014)

The Sarayaku case

Sarayaku is an indigenous community located in the province of Pastaza, in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Sarayaku ("River of Maize") is inhabited by 1,200 people from the Kichwa nationality. They operate a system of direct democracy. In 2002 the company CGC Argentina (Compañía General de Combustibles), accompanied by the Ecuadorian army illegally entered the territory of Sarayaku and buried 1500 Kg of pentolite, explosives used in seismic exploration for oil. The case was brought before the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights, creating a historical precedent in the defense of indigenous rights. The Constitution and the ILO Convention 169 determined to have prior, free and informed consent of indigenous peoples before starting exploitation. The people from Sarayaku won the case. But as this video will show, the threats to their community are far from over. (Arturo Hortas / Government of Aragon /EJOLT, 2012)

Related Project

Next Generation Leadership

We help create unique trainings for indigenous youth, focused on awakening their calling to defend their territories and providing them with the skills to facilitate participatory processes grounded in their own cultures.