Cabeceras Aid ProjectCabeceras Aid ProjectLast updated: September 16, 2018
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September 10, 2018: Update from Kris Stenzel on the Kotiria and Wa'ikhana Teaching and Learning Materials and Kotiria Longhouse Projects
"Both projects [described below on this page] have successfully moved forward over the past months! In February, copies of all teaching materials (primers, flipcharts and wall posters) were delivered to Kotiria and Wa'ikhana school teachers to use and evaluate during this school year. Your contributions also allowed us to purchase and ship food and gasoline to help with reconstruction of the Kotiria Longhouse in Carurú. All those materials were delivered in August, and the Kotiria School community made plans to begin work quickly and to inaugurate the new Longhouse this December. The indigenous documentation team will record the process and will share the results with all of us. Thanks again for your support!"
At right, the Wa'ikhana teacher and students recorded a video message of thanks for your support.
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For the past 18 years, linguist Dr. Kristine Stenzel (at right, with Wa'ikhana friends) has been working with two small indigenous groups who live in the northwest Amazon Basin in Brazil — the Kotiria and Wa'ikhana peoples — to support them in strengthening and maintaining their languages and cultures.
The Kotiria (sometimes called 'Wanano' or 'Guanano') and Wa'ikhana (sometimes called 'Piratapuyo') peoples speak sister languages. They live in the headwaters region of the Río Negro (Black River), very near the border between Brazil and Colombia. There are indigenous schools in seven of their villages: São Francisco, Aracu Porto, São Gabriel do Papurí, Ilha de Inambú, Caruru Cachoeira, Jutica, and Taracuá.
Over the 18 years of their collaborations, Kris has worked with local language advocates and teachers to develop writing systems as well as teaching materials for use in the Kotiria and Wa'ikhana schools. Literacy primers and early reading/writing books for Kotiria and Wa'ikhana children are already complete, and they are now advancing in their efforts to create dictionaries and pedagogical grammars in both languages. Many of the pictures you see here on this page are from Kris' workshops with Kotirias and Wa'ikhanas over the years.
This year, in 2018, Cabeceras launched a campaign to support the vitality of these two languages and cultures by collaborating with Kris to raise awareness about the Kotiria and Wa'ikhana peoples and to raise funds for two grassroots projects: the Kotiria and Wa'ikhana Teaching and Learning Materials Project and the Kotiria Indigenous School Longhouse Project. Read on to learn more about each project below!
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The goal for this project in 2018 is to raise $1,800, to provide primers and readers for Kotiria and Wa'ikahana students, as well as classroom support materials for Kotiria and Wa'ikhana teachers, for the next two school years.
• In order to jumpstart this wonderful new project, Cabeceras promised to match all donations made by May 31 with general funds, doubling your impact for this valuable work!
• News flash! By May 31, we raised $1,035 for this project — Thanks very much for your support so far!
⇒ Here are some concrete ways to support this project:
• A donation of $15 will purchase books and materials for two students in primary school.
• A donation of $70 will provide a full set of classroom materials for one teacher.
• A donation of $250 will provide a a full set of classroom materials for all the students and teachers in one of the seven Kotiria or Wa'ikhana village schools.
• Would you like to make a secure donation online now? If so, just click the Donate Now button. You may earmark your gift for any part of this project — just make a note in the 'Designation' field.
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The beautiful Kotiria longhouse (at left), located in the village of Carurú Cachoeira, was designed and built by the school community in 2008 according to traditional construction techniques. For eight years, it was used for ceremonies, assemblies, language workshops, special classes (at right), and other community meetings.
In 2016, the longhouse was lost to a fire. The cost to rebuild it — in terms of time and energy, as well as material resources — is substantial. This year, the Kotiria community is mobilizing across all their villages to rebuild their longhouse.
Our ongoing goal is to raise $3,000 to help the Kotiria people rebuild their longhouse. This will take 15 to 20 days of concentrated effort by Kotiria teachers, students, parents, and leaders from four different villages. Your support of the reconstruction project will provide food for hungry workers and fuel to transport building materials from various locations. The Kotirias hope to finish rebuilding their longhouse by mid-2018, so please, donate now!
⇒ Here are some concrete ways we can support this project:
• A contribution of $15 will fund one day of construction on the longhouse.
• A contribution of $60 will provide eight gallons of gasoline, to bring people and materials to Caruru from five different villages for the longhouse reconstruction effort.
• A contribution of $150 will provide rice, beans, and other essential foodstuffs that will feed ten hungry construction volunteers for the entire period the project.
• Would you like to make a secure donation online now? If so, just click the Donate Now button. You may earmark your gift for any part of this project — just make a note in the 'Designation' field.
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Both of these projects are rooted in the aspirations of the Kotiria and Wa'ikhana people — leaders and families, parents and kids, teachers and students alike — to keep their languages and cultures alive in a rapidly changing world. We hope that you will support these projects as much as you're able!
To make a secure donation online, please use the Donate Now button below. To earmark your gift for a specific part of these projects, please make a note in the 'Designation' field.
If you would like to donate by check, please write your check to 'Cabeceras Aid Project' and send it to this address:
Cabeceras Aid Project
Attn: Kris
5859 Braesheather Drive
Houston, TX 77096-3933
To earmark your donation for a specific part of these projects, please make a note in the bottom left corner of your check. Cabeceras Aid Project is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so your donation is tax-deductible. Our Tax ID number is: 74-2799387.
If you have any questions, you can contact Kris Stenzel via email at kris at cabeceras dot org; or Chris Beier at chris at cabeceras dot org.
Thanks very much for your interest and support!
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