The female guardians of Venezuela’s Imataca Forest Reserve
Being granted land was one of the main achievements of the project. However, for Cecilia, one that was even more important was the change of mindset within her community.
Cecilia Rivas (middle) is the ‘captain’ of the Kariña community, leading a restoration project in their native Imataca Forest Reserve.
©FAO/Jesús Contreras
It is around five in the morning, and the Imataca Forest Reserve is stirring with the voices of Kariña women. They advance towards the middle of the jungle, bound for the Botanamo river to gather the day’s water. Then, these indigenous women will prepare “casabe”, a circular tortilla made from cassava flour, to accompany what other members of the tribe have brought in from the hunt. After breakfast they turn to their main task of the day: managing and conserving the forest.
“I have never seen my indigenous sisters so motivated, so encouraged by their work… Even with all the problems that our country is going through, these women have the initiative to better their own community,” says Cecilia Rivas, the group’s “captain”.
“Captain” signifies the community’s elected leader. “The Kariña group was always dominated by men. We had neither voice nor vote before,” she explains. Cecilia’s election in 2013 marked the beginning of a transformation. The FAO-GEF project, which also aims to increase gender equality in the forestry sector, has continued this change in thinking, supporting the Kariña women in actively leading the development of their territories and the conservation of the area’s biodiversity.