In reviving their traditions, Peruvian women find their voice

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Nowadays, women are the keepers of traditional knowledge.

Awajún people of northern Peru, renowned as skilled warriors and for their women’s knowledge of plants as medicines and food. But, as is often the case, this traditional knowledge eroded as the modern world encroached.

When Conservation International (CI) began working with the Awajún community in the village of Shampuyacu in 2012 — near northern Peru’s Alto Mayo Protected Forest — the women saw an opportunity to bring back what had been lost.

They wanted a forest of their own where they could cultivate and harvest their traditional plants. They identified a patch of forest that suited their purposes, and they went to their community’s general assembly to ask for it.

But would their request be granted? Though women are often involved in making decisions with their families, it is the men who vote on final community decisions including those on land use in the general assembly.

We can see that the roles and responsibilities of men and women in traditional societies have a direct impact on the long-term sustainability of conservation efforts in those communities.

First Step: Education

This situation happens no only in Peru, also in many communities across the globe, men often have access to, and control over, decision-making that affects community land, despite the fact that the women are just as connected to the lands and waters where they live.

CI in Peru wanted to think more critically about how gender influences projects, and how these projects influence men and women differently given their respective roles and responsibilities. We asked ourselves many questions: Why is it important to think about gender when doing conservation work? How can we start incorporating gender considerations into our everyday work?

The first thing to improve understanding of the main issues. They found three areas:

  1. Building our knowledge
  2. Assessing gender policies and requirements of donors and the Peruvian government
  3. Incorporating a gender approach to our work

Milagros Sandoval (2015, Setiembre 18). CI Perú (Blog post). Retrieved from https://www.conservation.org/blog/in-reviving-their-traditions-peruvian-women-find-their-voice/

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