Guidebooks Reconnect Youth to Their Elders and Their Forest

Pikenani Nani KaGAI ENENTE, Weakimpa MONO OME Cowen

Learning from Our Elders, LET US ALWAYS Study our forest  

Waodani Youth Consult Elders to Investigate Waodani Taxonomy and Develop Guides to Flora and Fauna Containing Waodani Ecological and Cultural Knowledge

INTRODUCTION

The Waodani Nation inhabits and subsists from the Yasuni Biosphere Reserve and National Park (See Appendix. Graphic No. 1) forests, thought to contain the world's greatest biological diversity.  Studies realized in the Yasuni National Park have documented world records in the diversity of amphibians, reptiles, and bats, while the diversity of birds and mammals is also extremely high at 596 species of birds registered in the Park and an estimated 204 mammals.  With an average of 655 tree species per hectare, the Yasuni National Park holds the world record for tree diversity.  The watershed of the Tiputini River has been found to hold the world record in freshwater species for a body of water of its size.  And while very few studies have been realized within the Yasuni Biosphere reserve, it is probable that it is equally if not more diverse due to the added presence of Andean highland species. 

The Waodani’s small population size, territoriality, detailed observation skills, and proclivity towards a hunter-gatherer lifestyle are all qualities that could help their successful resource management for sustainable use.  However, a rapid process of assimilation and market integration, with a youth population increasingly isolated both from the forest and their elders, poses a great internal threat to future retention of this diversity.

 In the northwest portion of the Yasuni Biosphere reserve, four Waodani communities have recognized these threats and organized over the last 12 years to develop a successful low impact ecotourism project, called the Huaorani Ecolodge.  Three years ago they mapped their zone of influence within the larger Waodani Territory (approx 50,000 has) and set aside a no hunting zone (approx 5,000 has) to allow for the natural re-establishment of species which had gone locally extinct following an intense period of illegal logging in 1995.  Despite this initiative, youth in these communities have been subject to a formal schooling system which has taken them forests, replacing Waodani traditional ecological knowledge and individual experiential learning therein with knowledge of city life and Greek history. 

Community elders and parents as well as some youth in the Waodani Nation have identified an urgent need for youth to help document Waodani traditional knowledge before the elders disappear and the knowledge is lost.  Furthermore, many community members in the Association of Kewediono have identified a need to monitor both their hunting and the animal populations in the forest so they can make sure they are not overharvesting their resources.  These communities have requested our help to coordinate the development of field guides for animals and plants in the Waodani language, containing Waodani knowledge, in order to reconnect Waodani youth to the forest as well as to establish the foundations of their own system of monitoring flora and fauna.  Specifically, it makes much more sense for Waodani to document sightings of animals in their own language than having to spend the time and memorize the long and complex Spanish and scientific names for each organism.  For this to be successful, Waodani youth need to be well versed in the names of animals in their language and this is just one way in which the guide books can be put to practice.  This project is a continuation of work started by Fulbright Scholar Ciara Wirth, where 204 birds, 72 mammals, 19 snake, 5 turtle, 2 caiman, 4 lizard, and 5 frog names were identified.

METHODOLOGY

 

This project is just as much about the process as the end product. As Waodani youth consult their parents and elders to learn names, behaviors, powers, myths, and songs of animals in order to develop the guide books, their parents and elders become the experts and the knowledge they have, valuable. Instead of looking to the outside world for answers on how to live their life and act appropriately, they can look inward at their own society and value the knowledge and lessons to be learned therein. I think this is valuable on many levels and critical that youth engage in these activities to gain a stronger sense of self prior to learning about the multitude of equally valid and interesting knowledge from other societies that have so quickly become available to them. A respected friend and professor, Marcelo Fernandez-Osco, once told me that he was sick for many years because he had severed his umbilical-cord to his Aymara community and family when he left at the age of 14 to study in the city, and that he did not become well again until he returned to reconnect it. Having grounded himself, he proceeded to get a bachelors then PhD degree, living many years out of Bolivia, but he always returned and he always maintained a strong notion of who he was, building bridges outward from his inner core instead of severing his umbilical-cord. This very powerful metaphor is equally relevant in the case of Waodani youth. While the education system in Waodani Territory has transformed in name and theory to a very progressive intercultural and bilingual system, in practice, a lower-quality version of the formal schooling curriculum given in the cities continues to be executed. Today, Waorani youth know a fraction of the names of animals that their parents do and are much more prone to learn the intricacies of a Van Dam film, or a popular Tecno Cumbia song than to listen to their elders sing a song or tell a story. At the same time, rates of alcoholism are rising and there have been an unprecedented number of suicides and suicide attempts in the last 10 years given the Waodani population size.

As coordinators, our roles are to encourage students to continue consulting their parents and elders, as well as to facilitate student dialogue on the ways in which they want to present the information.  While students are receiving training in computer skills, during the early stages of the project it will be necessary to type and format their responses to facilitate review, correction and expansion of the entries by other students and community members.  However, the students and their elders are the authors of this work and they will be recognized as such.  Despite the added benefit of youth being able to write the guides in their language, which is much more utile in a Nation that speaks primarily Waotededo, their involvement is critical in this process because the information in the end is meant for them.  For them to learn and continue to teach to their children after their elders are gone. 

The written nature of these texts are not intended to in any way disrupt the oral transmission of this information, but rather serve as a validation of traditional Waodani knowledge and an incredibly important archive of ancestral knowledge that is rapidly disappearing with a dwindling population of elders, the primary keepers of this information.  While it would be ideal for all of this information to be transmitted orally through the practice of every day life, the Waodani are simply running out of time. It must also be considered that Waodani youth are required to read texts and learn natural sciences in secondary school, and these guides could provide a valuable nexus between the two worlds in which Waorani youth must now live.  

Throughout the project, students will be using a mixture of methods to document information, including writing from memory, audio recording and video recording.  All work will be conducted in their language first and they will work to translate information from their language in the classroom.

TANGIBLE OUTCOMES

The elaboration of:

1.       THEMATIC FLORA AND FAUNA CARD SETS

 Plasticized flashcards bound on a large metal ring (like keys) for: bird, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, Fish, Invertebrates, and Plants.  One side of the card would have a clearly identifiable picture of the organism and on the other side would be the organisms name in Waotededo, Spanish, English (both spelling and pronunciation with Spanish vocals), and Cientific Names. This item serves principally as a tool to learn the names of animals, whether in the house or in the classroom.  A copy of each card set will be distributed to each family in the four communities of the Association and at least five copies will be maintained in the library found in Kewediono.  A trial set of 40 bird species was printed for the community in January and has proved a very useful tool for parents to quiz their children as well as for children and youth to quiz themselves and learn the names of birds they did not know. 

2.       PRACTICAL FIELD REFERENCE GUIDES

This document would be similar to the color plates from field guides, differing greatly from the thematic flora and fauna card sets in that it would include several pictures of animals considered similar by Waodani with their names in Waodani. While the thematic flora and fauna card sets would be primarily educational tools, these would serve as references while in the field and engaging in resource monitoring surveys.  It has come to our attention that several animals have the same name in Waotededo but are recognized as being different varieties of that general category.  For monitoring it would be useful to have a code accompanying the name in these cases to be able to reference the data entry to the organism’s scientific name once they enter it into their monitoring database. This document would be primarily useful for monitoring and guiding birder tourists.

3.       CD OF MUSIC AND MYTHS

In Waorani culture there exist songs and myths dedicated especially to the animals and plants found in their forest. For this product, efforts will be made to have all songs sung and myths recounted by elders, as these people poses the greatest knowledge. According to Waodani accounts, there exist to this day fewer than 30 Waodani elders, and for this reason it is urgent to register the greatest amount of knowledge they posses so that it is not lost and can be passed on by future generations of Waodani. 

4.       WAODANI ENCYCLOPEDIAS OF FLORA AND FAUNA

This product will consist of a book with several chapters a description of Waodani taxonomy, classifications of forest ecosystem types, and complete information on all Waodani knowledge about each animal, including songs and myths as well as the importance the elders ascribe to the forest and its biological diversity.  This document will be written both in Waotededo and in Spansih.  This product will be of use both at home and in the classroom, both as a reference and an educational tool.

TIMELINE: August 2011-July 2012

PROJECT ANTECEDENTS

In early September of 2010, Ciara began working with the Association of Kewediono, funded by a Fulbright Commission in Ecuador 10 month Scholarship.   Her objective had been to work with secondary students and their families to develop bi-cultural ecology curriculum for secondary school students which placed emphasis on student directed scientific inquiry to address community resource and sustainability concerns, and which aimed to redefine the current rigid formal schooling structure to incorporate traditional methods of transmitting cultural knowledge according to community objectives.  During her the last 10 months of fieldwork, she:

·         Collaborated with the Association of Kewediono, the Waodani Government Organization (NAWE) the Provincial Waodani Intercultural and Bilingual Eduaction Board (DEIBNA-Wao), and the Ecuadorian Ministry of Education Intercultural and Bilingual Education Branch (DINEIB) in order to write the proposal to legalize the secondary school in the community of Kewediono up to the sixth and final year.  The “Unidad Educativa Intercultural Bilingue de Kewediono” is two weeks away from being officially legalized with the technical specialty of “Administration and Management of Natural Resources”.  At this point, it can apply for government funding for professors, laboratories, etc.

·         Set up a research laboratory (See Appendix. Graphic No. 2)

·         Taught classes and worked with the students to begin to develop curriculum catered to the socio-cultural and environmental contexts of the students, considering as well student’s reading, writing, and math skills.  (See Appendix. Graphics No.  3-10)

·         Facilitated student development of a survey in the Waodani language, Wao tededo, for community members to monitor their own hunting in for the students to start analyzing community hunting levels and hold community meetings with the goal of taking measures to determine sustainable harvest. 

·         Coordinated the first stages of flora and fauna field guide development (See Appendix.Graphic No. 11).  For class assignments, students were asked to:

o   Identify the Waodani names for animals they saw in pictures.  In the case of similar looking birds, audio files with bird calls were used by students to identify the correct scientific name to match the animal they saw in their territory.  If they did not remember the names, they could consult community elders.

o   Describe in their language the characteristics of this animal – when they were young, how did they learn to connect the name to the correct animal?

o   Describe the life history of the animal in their language: where it can be found, what its diet is composed of, what its predators are, where and when it has offspring and how many it has, whether it is gregarious or solitary, etc.  Again, if they did not know much about this animal, they could consult community elders.

Emilio joined the project in March of 2011 and has worked with the students on the following component of the guides (See Appendix.Graphics No. 12-13):

o   Describe the significance of this animal to Waodani: what people think about the animal, is it is used for something, does it have powers in their cosmology, are there myths about it, and are there songs sung about it?  Again, if they did not know much about this animal, they could consult community elders.  In the case of songs and myths, students can record themselves and or their elders singing the songs or telling the story.  The laboratory audio recording devices and video camera can be borrowed by the students at any time.

As of June 1^st, the students have identified Waodani names for: 204 birds, 72 mammals, 19 snakes, 5 turtles, 2 caiman, 4 lizards, and 5 frogs. Of these, they have described the characteristics of 15 animals in their language, they have described the life histories of 53 animals in Spanish, and they have written the myths for 13 animals and songs for 4 animals. 

THE TEAM

Ciara Wirth

Email: Ciara.f.wirth@gmail.com

Skype: ciarawirth

BS in Biology, Duke University 2010

AB in Environmental Science and Policy

Duke University 2010

Emilio Rojas

Email: rojasecheverria@gmail.com

Skype: kekilio10

Lic. Educacion

Universidad de Playa Ancha de Ciencias de la Educación, Valparaiso, Chile 2007

©Magister en Antropologia

Universidad Academia de Humanismo Cristiano, Santiago, Chile, 2011

Matthew Herring

Email:  mherring@murraywildlife.com.au 

Director of Murray Wildlife Pty Ltd, an independent consultancy

specializing in wetland ecology, conservation and community education

Colaborating Researchers and Volunteers

In Country

Matthew Herring, October, December 2010, January 2011

Jessica Herring, October 2010

Susie Blown, December 2010, January  2011

Javier Torres, November 2011 (Wildlife Conservation Society)

Jennifer Berglund, April 2011 (Prehensile Productions)

Keith Hayward, April 2011, October 2011 (Prehensile Productions)

Kristina Cvetich, February-July 2011
Amelie Conty, October-December 2011 (GVI Intern)
Jessie Sikora, October-December 2011 (GVI Intern)
Neil Emory, October 2011 (TROPIC tourist)
Jose Zambrano, October 2011 (TROPIC guide)
Anna Choonpicharn, January-March 2012 (TROPIC guide),
Mark Sears, January-March 2012 (GVI Intern)

Out of Country
Jerry Pavlon-Blum, February-July 2011 (Gateway School)

Neil Emory, February- October 2011


Advisory Pannel
Dr. Stuart Pimm, Doris Duke Chair of Conservation Biology, Duke University
Dr. Kelly Swing, Director and Founder of the Tiputini Research Station in Ecuador 
Dr. Flora Lu, Associate Professor in the Latin Amer. & Latino Studies Dep. UC Santa Cruz
Dr. Laura Rival, Lecturer in Anthro. and Development, Linacre College, University of Oxford

Financial Support

March Foundation, $15,000 (July 2011-June 2012)
David Blinken, $2,000 (September 2011, January 2012)

Fulbright Commission in Ecuador, $10,000 (September 2010-June 2011)

March Foundation, $5,000 (October 2010)

Save America’s Forests, approx $400 in laboratory equipment donations (March 2011)

Conservation in Action – facilitating donations

Logistics Support

Conservation in Action – allows us to enter and exit the community at no cost by river or air when a canoe or plane contracted by TROPIC Journeys in Nature has dropped off tourists to the community or the Shiripuno Bridge.

Organization With Which We Have Collaborated

Nacionalidad Waodani de Ecuador (NAWE), Puyo, Ecuador

Dirección de Educación Intercultural Bilingüe de la Nación Waodani (DEIBNA-WAO), Puyo,EC
Dirección Nacional de Educación Intercultural Bilingüe (DINEIB), Quito, Ecuador
Asociación de Mujeres de la Amazonia Ecuatoriana Waodani (AMWAE), Puyo, Ecuador

Conservation In Action (CA), Fundacion TROPIC, Quito, Ecuador
Global Vision International (GVI), Ecuador, headquarters in the United Kingdom

Wildlife Conservation Society Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador

Save America's Forests, USA

 

 APPENDIX

GRAPHIC NO.1

GRAPHIC NO. 2

The Laboratory – a work in progress

GRAPHIC NO. 3

Students conduct a bird survey in the secondary forest surrounding the community airstrip

GRAPHIC NO. 4

Students conduct a bird survey along a mountain ridge-top.

GRAPHIC NO. 5

Two young women head out to survey insects

GRAPHIC NO. 6

Keith Hayward and Ciara Wirth show Toka and Rosa how to view the films they just took.  This camera was leant to the community by the Gateway School in New York

GRAPHIC NO. 7

Keith shows Ñama how to set up a video interview

GRAPHIC NO. 8

Ñama shows other youth in the community how to operate the video camera

GRAPHIC NO. 9

Keith Hayward teaches Toka and Wañade how to edit the short film clips they have taken.  This computer has been leant to the secondary school in Kewediono by the Documentary Film Department of the Gateway School in New York

GRAPHIC NO. 10

Nanogabe examines insects under a dissecting scope

GRAPHIC NO. 11

Gange consults here father Eweme when she does not remember names of birds in Waotededo.  She edits a working document for a Waodani bird guide.

GRAPHICs NO. 12 &13

Students make a list of animals that have powers for Waodani. The field guides for fauna will include information about these powers, as well as songs about and myths about the animals.

Students make a list of animals that have powers for Waodani. The field guides for fauna will include information about these powers, as well as songs about and myths about the animals. 

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

This project requires funding to cover

(1) Coordinator travel, room and board

(2) Research equiptment (cameras, laptops, digital voice recorders, etc)

(3) Operation costs (printing drafts of the animal and plant cards for youth consult of elders, etc)

Best,

Ciara

 ,