At CAEMBA, we are very clear that our mission is to eradicate precarious housing nationwide. That’s why we have initiated a knowledge-sharing process on bamboo planting, management, harvesting, preparation, and high-durability bamboo house construction in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
This process began on Saturday, August 28, 2021, and will conclude two months later, on October 28. Max Nawech, Francisco Ayuy, Luis Suamar, and Elías Wanpanti are four young Shuar individuals who, along with Jonathan Piaguaje, a young Siekopai, will be trained in the comprehensive bamboo process, from planting to bamboo house construction. The five young individuals will receive training at our farm and industrial bamboo production plant, located on the La Concordia – Santo Domingo road.
The indigenous youth, along with CAEMBA staff, kicked off the training sessions that will last for two months. Photo: Caemba
An Important Strategic Alliance
This is a pilot project as CAEMBA plans to replicate and expand its work in the Shuar communities of the central-southern Amazon region of Ecuador (mainly in Pastaza and Morona Santiago) through the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (CONFENIAE) starting in January 2022.
The meeting to inform about the strategic alliance with the Shuar nationality took place in the Sucúa canton, Morona Santiago, at the end of February 2021. Photo: CAEMBA
The Raíz Ecuador – CAEMBA Foundation promotes an alliance with the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon Basin (COICA), CONFENIAE, the Interprovincial Federation of Shuar Centers (FICSH), the Federation of the Shuar Nationality of Pastaza (FENASH-P), and the Amazon Vision Foundation.
Environmental and educational axes
Los ejes ambientales y educativos del programa CAEMBA en la Amazonía, en colaboración con estas organizaciones, tienen como propósito la construcción de casas prefabricadas de bambú y madera certificada y sostenible. El objetivo es reducir la deforestación, mitigar el cambio climático, disminuir la huella de carbono y proporcionar acceso a viviendas de bambú de bajo costo y alta calidad para las familias amazónicas.
Este enfoque forma parte de un proceso integral de transferencia de conocimientos por parte de CAEMBA hacia otros actores involucrados en la erradicación de la vivienda precaria en Ecuador, como los Pueblos y Nacionalidades Indígenas.
Pascual García, head of production at the bamboo industrial plant, explains part of the bamboo processes to the Shuar youth. Photo: CAEMBA
Bamboo Training School – CAEMBA
In this context, the Raíz Ecuador – CAEMBA Foundation is in the process of finalizing an agreement with the Ecuadorian Service for Professional Training (SECAP) with the aim of certifying future specialized technicians in bamboo construction with titles endorsed by SECAP.
CAEMBA will establish a Bamboo Training School CAEMBA at our farm and industrial bamboo production plant, located on the La Concordia – Santo Domingo road.
We express our gratitude to each of the indigenous organizations that are part of this alliance with the Raíz Ecuador – CAEMBA Foundation. We look forward to deepening the bonds between Indigenous Peoples and our organization in the short, medium, and long term.