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Fundación Pachamama, our sister organization in Quito through which we’ve carried out our work since 1997, will be officially shut down in mid-July, after exhausting all legal appeals in Ecuador. Despite this, the work of The Pachamama Alliance continues.
Our Work in Ecuador Continues
Although there is no official NGO (non-governmental organization) structure through which we do our work in Ecuador now, the work of Pachamama Alliance in Ecuador continues as we support nine indigenous federations in their work to keep their self-determination and future planning for their own territory. None of that work has stopped during this transition time, and we continue to call for an oil-free Amazon.
In partnership with on-the-ground local experts, we continue to forward key projects that were underway before Fundación Pachamama’s shutdown. We work to present a new, sustainable vision for development in Ecuador's Amazon and the country as a whole.
We support indigenous federations in having their various ecotourism projects thrive, providing an alternative source of income for their communities. Our Jungle Mamas program continues to train local community members in health issues and safe birthing practices, saving lives of mothers and babies. We continue to provide legal training and other capacity-building workshops on key issues vital to the self-determination of local communities.
An Outpouring of International Support
Exhausting legal proceedings in Ecuador, in March Fundación Pachamama took its case to a topic hearing titled “Situation of the Right to Freedom of Association and Environmental Defenders in Ecuador” at the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights in Washington D.C. Next step will be to explore bringing a case to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights, a process that will take several years.
Within days of the shutdown in December, nonprofit and human rights organizations throughout the world signed on to a letter of solidarity calling for the reinstatement of Fundación Pachamama, and hundreds of others issued individual statements of support, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Groups internationally continue to denounce efforts of the Ecuadorian government to repress civil liberties, for the good of all social organizations that are at risk in Ecuador.
On several occasions in the first months of 2014, the former President of Fundación Pachamama, Belén Páez, was invited to Europe to meet with and speak at numerous international gatherings addressing the suppression of free speech for defenders of human rights in Ecuador. She remains a tireless commitment to partnering with indigenous people to preserve their rights to self-determination.
