What We Do

Totora decontamination and carbon sequestration

We believe starting with Totora and carbon sequestration is excellent. If possible, this section could use the description currently placed under Communal and School Gardens:

We plant totoras, which have been proven to have mining decontamination properties in Lake Uru Uru (with “proven” linked to: http://www.scielo.org.bo/pdf/mamym/v6n1/v6n1_a01.pdf). Once the plant has rooted and absorbed contamination, it is harvested, increasing the decontamination rate through repeated cycles.

Communal and school gardens

Sisters’ handicrafts

Indigenous knowledge documentation

Popular Action legal defence actions

Science and Indigenous Principle initiatives (traditional medicine lab, etc)

Impact numbers

0 TC02/HA

Carbon sequestration by each Totora hectare

0 qq

Produce harvested by each hectare of garden

Community members trained in 2024

Communal and school gardens

To help address the food insecurity and economic crisis Bolivia is facing, we have implemented communal and school gardens that grow different vegetables, such as potatoes. Although growing conditions are challenging at high altitudes, we do our best to maintain and sustain these gardens across Bolivia.

Indigenous Environmental Education

At the local community and school and to the International Academic community on environmental restoration, we dedicate ourselves to disseminate how our Indigenous technology can help conserve and restore aquatic systems.

Social Empowerment & Gender Equity

Due to the detrimental status of the Uru-Uru lake, we are dedicated to reactivating the local economies of the local communities surrounding the Uru-Uru and Poopo lakes.
Through the help of local and international grants, we have successfully created and collaborated on projects such as Chacha Emprende, a project that is dedicated to tackling gender inequality by working on New Masculinities concepts with Indigenous men leaders from 8 surrounding communities, intentionally.
We have also collaborated on projects such as Warmi Shinning, helping young Indigenous girls access English Language training and Leadership workshops.

Community Livelihoods & Local Economy

For the local Indigenous communities, we promote on the local community of Villa Challacollo the production of local gardens to produce vegetables for the community’s consumption and its sale.
In the Uru community, through the provision of unrestricted funds, we promote local production of salt, wool-based, and traditional Indigenous medicine products.
In both communities, we are also increasing efforts to make the communities sell the women’s Totora-based handicrafts, such as hats and different souvenirs.
This work, aims to diversify and activate the local economy of our Indigenous community partners.

Legal and Political Advocacy Work

We have compiled 5 successful “Popular Actions.” That is a legal mechanism that has, altogether, helped to stop the rapid and unplanned urbanization of negative growth on the banks of the lake.
It has also successfully stopped mining activity going on in the legion of Oruro.
On the Political side, our members successfully advocate in national and international spheres (COP, Climate Justice Camp, Ramsar convention, UN Indigenous summits) to save the Uru-Uru lake from mining and plastic contamination.
Our members have also talked in front of presidential candidates calling them to take action.