revivinginnerwisdom

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Let’s work together in preservation of cultural heritage in Bolivia

“When an old man dies, a library burns to the ground.”

African proverb

Why am I passionate about preservation of cultural heritage?
In Slovenia, the majority of our true cultural legacy has been lost due to the uptake of Christian religion and damaging world wars. Nowadays colonialization continues with the increasing uptake of the western lifestyle and technology that continues to threaten our connection to the land and the knowledge about medicinal plant, sacred sights and rituals.
This is a contagious situation that spreads around the world. It is difficult to revive folk knowledge once it is lost. Books contain some information, but they cannot replace the living knowledge and wisdom that could have been passed down from one generation to the other.

And how can we be of service?
Before the knowledge passes to oblivion, it is important to pass it on from the elders to the young. The elders are normally the ones responsible for preservation of the land, the use of healing herbs as well as the intangible cultural heritage.
Wherever possible, support their cause because the threat of extinction is ever increasing due to adverse weather patterns, poor economic conditions, increasing use of invasive plants and poor general awareness.
Preservation of cultural and natural heritage of Kallawaya people in Bolivia
The project to support cultural heritage among Kallaway people comes at this precise moment in time, when the elders are still alive and well enough. They have the capacity and are eager to transfer the knowledge to the younger generation. The elders still use the cultural and natural heritage and they are able to preserve local plants and medicinal herbs. On the other hand, the young ones are old enough to take up the challenge and learn how to work with the land and with the herbs, besides they need to find the purpose for staying in the region instead of migrating and searching for a job in the city.

The challenges that lie at the feet of Kallawaya people predominantly focused around the:

  • maintenance of their system of agricultural terraces intended for cultivation of plants and healing herbs,
  • creation of a seed bank, building an appropriate facility where these seeds could be stored and nurtured,
  • prepare written records of their use of herbs and healing rituals and creation of a written and digitalized archive of their rich knowledge;
  • school for oral transfer of knowledge to the younger generations and
  • digital presentation and promotion of their culture and their work.

Who are the Kallawaya people in Bolivia?
Kallawaya are the indigenous people that live in the mountainous Bautista Saavedra region north of La Paz in Bolivia. Kallawaya are traditionally known as healers that use their local medicinal plants to heal their patients. They are keepers of an extraordinary knowledge and possess an immense richness of medicinal flora that has been showcased even worldwide. For the Universal Expo in Paris in 1889, they prepared an exquisite list of more than 100 medicinal plants that travelled to France (that was the same year that Eiffel tower was constructed), a mere 10% of what their pharmacopeia holds. And when the Panama channel has been in construction, they were called to service to treat malaria.  
In early 2000’s, Kallawaya Cosmovision has been declared as an intangible cultural heritage. Kallawaya are really fortunate to have preserved their own distinct language and culture and now they need a bit of help in bridging nowadays’ challenges. 
Project proposal and implementation
Tina Zgonik, director of the Samkiri Institute, an institute for research of ancient cultures, has been living in Bolivia for the past decade and has established a trustful working relationship with Kallawaya people. She has learned their traditions and established their real needs.
The project has been designed by the Kallawaya people themselves, while Tina is helping them with the administrative tasks and the contact with the outer world. She also works as a tourist guide and organizes trips to the Andes. In the future she is also going to organize medicinal retreats with the Kallawaya people, where people would be able to experience their healing techniques. While the western medicine provides a myriad of diagnosis, a shaman knows only one. That is, how far has one departed from his true nature and how to bring him or her back to his true homeostasis.   
The project is estimated to run for two years, from 2025 to 2027. Much of exploratory work has been already done by Tina and don Aurelio, the representative of Kallawaya people, the main shaman and herbal healer (featured on the pictures). The project is estimated to a total of 36.000 EUR.
If you are eager to join our cause, please contact me and I shall provide you with the full information about the project and the bank account, where the donations are gathered. Should you feel called to help with the implementation of the project in person in Bolivia, through charity work, it is also possible.
Contact me to join the cause with a donation that will strengthen the foundations of this project.
Tina and don Aurelio will be providing regular reports on how the project is being implemented.