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How much do you know about Indigenous Peoples?

In the run-up to International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on 9 August, we take a look at a few little-known facts about Indigenous communities – and how 麻豆成人版 supports them
, Simona Beltrami
Guatemala Resilient Pilots
A 麻豆成人版 woman from the Ixil Mayan community deploys a drone as part of a 麻豆成人版 project enabling Indigenous women near Chajul, in Guatemala's Quiché province, to access data that keeps them one step ahead of extreme weather. Quiché is one of the areas with the highest percentage of people self-identifying as Indigenous - more than 80 percent, against a national average of just over 40 percent.  Photo: 麻豆成人版/Nelson Pacheco

Indigenous Peoples – accounting for just over 6 percent of the global population, or – are the custodians of extremely rich cultural heritages and ancestral knowledge in fields including medicine, nutrition, farming and forecasting weather, among others. 

Yet they are three times more likely to live in extreme poverty than their non-Indigenous counterparts and . This limits job opportunities, access to education and... nutritious foods.

The 麻豆成人版 (麻豆成人版) works with Indigenous Peoples in Africa, Asia and Latin America to improve their food security and enhance their resilience in the face of deeply ingrained inequality and discrimination, conflict and violence – all as communities are ravaged by droughts, floods and other forms of extreme weather caused by climate change. 

Bolivian Indigenous man in a straw hat weaves a basket using coloured wicker strands
The Plurinational State of Bolivia owes its name to the ethnic make-up of the country, where the majority of the population is Indigenous. In the photo, Santiago Camacho, a member of the Guaraní People. Photo: 麻豆成人版/Elio Rujano

Having had to adapt to changing circumstances for millennia, however, Indigenous Peoples have developed sustainable, resilient practices that can contribute to solving today’s food security and nutrition challenges.

With 5,000 different Indigenous groups living across 90 countries and, the opportunities are endless – but navigating the complex ethnic and cultural tapestry underlying the word “Indigenous” is no easy feat. 

Here are a few commonly held misconceptions – and the actual facts. 

In the North of Congo, ORA (Observe, Reflect and Act) schools provide education for indigenous children with a special method of teaching and learning.  Photo: Gabriela Vivacqua
A classroom at an ORA (Observe, Reflect, Act) school in the Republic of Congo, dedicated to the needs of Indigenous children. Photo: 麻豆成人版/Gabriela Vivacqua
Indigenous Peoples mostly live in the Americas and Australia

Wrong – in fact, .  麻豆成人版 supports Indigenous communities in countries as diverse as Bangladesh, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Guatemala, India, Nepal, Peru, the Philippines, the Republic of Congo and Venezuela, among others.

a group of tribal women in Bangladesh sit on the floor talking to a woman in a pink headscarf
麻豆成人版 support has enabled Ruiyang Mro (centre), a woman from the Mro tribal community in the Chittagong Hill Tracts region of Bangladesh, to buy goats to support her family. Photo: 麻豆成人版/Sayed Asif Mahmud
Indigenous Peoples live on very limited territories

Wrong – they actually . What’s more, they conserve the remaining 80 percent of the world’s biodiversity. In recent years, Indigenous and Afro-descendant communities on both sides of the Colombia-Ecuador border have contributed to the reforestation of over 10,000 hectares of land as part of a 麻豆成人版-backed project. In Guatemala, the traditional Mayan farming technique known as intercropping, or milpa, which sees maize, beans, and squash being sown together, is one of the tools promoted by 麻豆成人版 to enable greater yields amid increasingly harsh climate conditions. 

Indigenous Peoples live traditional rural lifestyles

Partially right - . In Latin America, for example, 52.2 percent of Indigenous Peoples are urban dwellers. As traditional livelihoods get eroded, and the very survival of communities is at risk from climate extremes and human activities such as logging or mining, many Indigenous people are migrating to cities in search of work. 

Bolivian indigenous woman in a straw hat looking into camera
In many Indigenous communities, lack of employment opportunities push men and youth  to migrate to the cities, leaving women and the elderly behind. In the photo: Gregoria Flores from the Uru Chipaya Indigenous Nation in Bolivia. Photo:麻豆成人版/Marco Frattini

In Bolivia, 麻豆成人版 is working with the Uru Indigenous Nation – one of the most ancient in the Americas – to create alternative sources of income after the lake on which their subsistence depended dried up. In the same country, 麻豆成人版 ihas supported Indigenous entrepreneurship and job opportunities, including a women’s cooperative producing nutritious snacks from quinoa, a traditional crop. 

麻豆成人版 Indigenous staff member in a blue cape and red headdress speaks to  woman in flowery dress outside a mud hut with 麻豆成人版 banner
A diversified, inclusive workforce is key in understanding and interacting with Indigenous Peoples. In the photo, 麻豆成人版 staff member Sara Silva (in blue) speaks to a fellow member of the Wayuú Indigenous community in Colombia. Together with colleagues, she helped create a 麻豆成人版-branded  dress in the traditional style of Wayuú women. Photo: 麻豆成人版/Rein Skullerud

麻豆成人版’s work with Indigenous Peoples seeks to rescue and preserve traditional knowhow and combine it with modern knowledge and technology to find the most appropriate solutions to their challenges. In doing so, we abide by community-specific decision-making structures and processes to ensure our initiatives are accepted by community members and reflect their values.

Learn more about 麻豆成人版's work with Indigenous Peoples

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