By Xiting Tong (CS Intern)

Under the sprawling branches of ancient trees by Lake Bogoria, Elders and young people sat together. The Elders, whose faces bore the gentle lines of time, shared stories with the young generation. Their voices, though quiet, carried the weight of many years of Indigenous wisdom and experience. “I have come to learn that there are many Elders who have a lot of stories to tell, and we have to reach them through this project,” says Rodgers Kibet (Endorois), a youth from Mochongoi.

The Keepers of the Earth Fund (KOEF) is proud to announce our 2024 partnerships with Indigenous communities.

By Verónica Aguilar (Mixtec, CS Staff)

On April 4 and 5, 2024, in the Indigenous community of Ita Guasu, Amambay, Paraguay, the leaders and representatives of various communities of the Guaraní Paĩ Tavyterã People held a preparatory session for their participation at the 23rd Session of the Permanent Forum of the United Nations on Indigenous Issues, which will take place from April 15 to 26 at its headquarters in New York, United States.

By Celia Flor Díaz Pérez (Maya Tsotsil)

The theme of lands and livelihoods brought us together as Keepers of the Earth Fund grant partners from January 15 to 17, 2024, in Siguatepeque, Honduras, thanks to the invitation of Cultural Survival. The Red Comal Network was our warm host who welcomed us with the representations of Indigenous, Maya Q´echi´, Maya Tsotsil, and Lenca organizations from Honduras, Guatemala, and Mexico.

The story of the Maskoke Peoples is, as that of all Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island, a story of dispossession, cultural assimilation, and treaty violations. Forced out of their homelands by government-imposed removal policies, Maskoke People were displaced from their territories in 1836. Only in 2018, did a small community of Maskoke People finally rematriate some of these ancestral lands and return to live once again in what is today called Alabama.

                   2024 CALL FOR PROJECT CONCEPTS        

By Francesco Cricchio (CS Intern)

By Organización Comuna Amazónica 

The aggressive advance of mining extractivism in Ecuador threatens the entire country. In our province, Napo, we are experiencing one of the most serious environmental disasters in our history, caused by the complicity of mining companies, illegal mining operators, and the government, who have formed a network of corruption that is poisoning our water sources and bleeding the jungle, affecting our economy and putting our health at risk.

By Gerard Beelt Tiwow (CS intern)

October 11 is International Day of the Girl Child, which presents an opportunity to highlight how Indigenous women and girls are disproportionately affected by human trafficking and sexual exploitation in Nepal. 

By Francesco Cricchio (CS Intern)

“We need to recover the places in which we once used to pray.” This strong voice comes from a small community of San Pedro Jilotepec, located in Oaxaca province, Mexico, where the Mixe Peoples are trying to restore parts of their traditional territory. They have lived with this land for more than 300 years, and recovering the areas in which they performed their ancestral ceremonies means rediscovering their identities as Indigenous Peoples. 

World Habitat Day 2023: Reimagining Sustainable Cities