Life Plan for the Sawawo Hito 40 Native Community
In March of this year, members of UAC’s field team spent several weeks working with the Sawawo Hito 40 Native Community on the development of its Life Plan. Surveys, interviews and meetings were carried out with different groups within the community to help organize their vision and priorities for the future, specifically as it relates to improving their quality of life through the protection of their territory and care of their natural resources.
UAC’s Diego Shoobridge discusses future interests and needs with Sawawo community members to inform their Life Plan.
The Life Plan is a tool that aids the development of the community helping them to defend their interests. It is a guide that leaders can use to guide decisions that benefit the community, and that representatives of government institutions and private organizations can use to better understand how development efforts should be organized based on the wishes and interests of the community.
The Life Plan workshops were attended by members of the neighboring Native Community of Apiwtxa who provided important advice and contributions based on their own Life Planning process. The information collected is being analyzed and organized in the final, written version of the Plan that will be presented at a community assembly.
“The life plan is important for assuring that youth have the opportunity to develop well, and to help guide future projects for the benefit of the community. With the Life Plan, we can ask for respect and sovereignty as it relates to our future and development. We can focus on activities that we feel will benefit us, for example, planting trees and raising chickens for food security, improving the economics of our fish farms, and getting the resources we need to clean the town. We can resist the negative influence of the mestizos ideas and maintain our cultural identity.”
Cesia Babilonia works with young women to collect information to include in the Life Plan.
Communal assemblies are a critical part of the Life Planning process.