Takeaways from AP's story on the Ashaninka tribe's reforestation model in the Brazilian Amazon
The Ashaninka of the Amonia River, inhabitants of the western Amazon, reclaimed their land from cattle ranchers more than 30 years ago
APIWTXA VILLAGE, Brazil (AP) — The Ashaninka tribe of Amonia River live in a largely preserved area of Brazil's western Amazon rainforest. Over the past three decades, they have taken back their territory from cattle farmers and loggers, replacing pasture with fruit and timber trees, the sacred Ayahuasca vine, acai palm trees and medicinal plants.
With their autonomy secured, the Ashaninka are now working to share their experience with neighbors to protect the whole region from deforestation and overexploitation of its natural resources. In 2016, an Ashaninka was elected mayor of nearby Marechal Thaumaturgo, the first Indigenous to achieve this in Western Amazon's Acre state.
Now, an Ashaninka-led regional organization has secured a $6.8 million grant to improve territory management in neighboring Indigenous territories, collectively an area the size of the U.S. State of Delaware.
Here's what to know:
