A message from the Heart of the World

Program for Support to the Heart of the World

The indigenous people of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta ask for your help in recovering their ancestral lands and protecting their sacred sites.

This program, an autonomous initiative by the four indigenous organizations of the Sierra Nevada, proposes the consolidation of traditional indigenous territory as a conservation and human rights action, for the future of the Sierra Nevada, its biodiversity and water resources, and for the wellbeing of its indigenous inhabitants.

Latest news

• One of the first donations, just received, will allow the purchase of a plot of land for the Kankurwa, located in Seykwinkta, where 6 children, future Mamas and indigenous leaders, are training. The plot serves as a garden to provide food during cultural ceremonies and celebrations.
• The program has been adopted as a Serendipity Project by the Marion Institute in Boston, which enables donations online to help us achieve the objectives of this indigenous initiative for the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
• The Nature Conservancy continues to support the recovery of traditional territory in the Sierra Nevada, working directly with the Gonawindua Tayrona Indigenous Organization.
• In January/February 2008, a team from the National Geographic traveled to the Sierra Nevada, authorized by the traditional indigenous authorities, to record a new film on the region.
• For more insight into the "Heart of the World", see an article by Stephen Ferry, introduction by Wade Davis, published in National Geographic magazine in 2004.

Project supported by the Marion Institute.

Coordination: Danilo Villafaña and Fiona Wilton
Postal Address: Cra. 19A No.23-05, Barrio los Naranjos, Santa Marta, Colombia.
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