Ceramics, forest, and resistance: Indigenous women preserve ancestral knowledge in the Amazon.

In the villages nestled between the river and the forest in theUpper Rio Negro region of Amazonas, Indigenous hands mold clay, transforming earth into history. This transformation, however, is only possible thanks to the caraipé tree, fundamental in the preparation of the traditional ceramics of the Tukano people.

With the project “Noãgű (caraipé): an essential element in the transformation of clay into ceramics,” theWomen's Network of the State of Amazonas – Makira Ëta decided to protect this link between nature and culture. More than a craft practice, ceramics carry ways of life, worldviews, and autonomy. And it all begins with the sustainable management of a tree: the caraipé.The territorial organization and Indigenous environmental policies are the focus of the narrative about the first inhabitants of Taracuá, the Tukano people of the Bohsó Kaperi Porã clan. The cultural dynamics were altered by colonization, a process that led to the loss and dormancy of some Indigenous knowledge. The quest to recover this knowledge came in the form of community mobilization, ethnomapping workshops, collective planting, and political training with Indigenous women. The project also promotes collaborations with scientific institutions, deepening studies on germination and sustainable tree management, which is not limited to technique alone. It's about life, territory, and the future.In addition to environmental preservation, the initiative promotes financial autonomy and political training for Indigenous women, confronting environmental racism and rescuing dormant cultural practices.

“We fight to protect the territory. We also want the women of the Upper Rio Negro to have financial autonomy and for what we do to be valued as cultural heritage of the community. But without support, it wouldn't be possible. Labora understood the logistical challenges we face in carrying out our work and has been helping us with that,” says Deise Tukano, the project coordinator.

This project received funding through the call for proposals

“Just Transition and Decent Work: Good Living for Workers in the Fields, Waters, and Forests”from Labora - Fund for Support of Decent Work, an initiative of the Brazil Fund for Human Rights. Labora supports initiatives that promote decent work, racial, gender, and climate justice, strengthening the autonomous organization of working people. Investing in projects led by Indigenous women is to ensure that ancestral knowledge and cultural resistance continue to flourish, protecting territories and building a just and sustainable future., uma iniciativa do Fundo Brasil de Direitos Humanos. O Labora apoia iniciativas que promovem trabalho digno, justiça racial, de gênero e climática, fortalecendo a organização autônoma das pessoas trabalhadoras. Investir em projetos liderados por mulheres indígenas é garantir que o saber ancestral e a resistência cultural continuem a florescer, protegendo territórios e construindo um futuro justo e sustentável.