For the end of 2023, we wanted to focus GG19 on the work and passion of Avelin Buniacá Kambiwá who are defending the rights of Indigenous Women in Brazil 

👉 You can find a Portuguese version here 👈 

Mycelia is weaving the Human Bioma, from the ancestrality of Indigenous Peoples, to the infinity of Web3. We believe that Indigenous Peoples are the one that can help humanity to face ecosystem collapse, biodiversity losses and foster a global culture that reconnects us to the fabric of life — their mission on Earth is a real public good for humanity. 

To achieve this, Indigenous Peoples are asking for more self-determination, and Web3 is delivering them.

TL;DR 👇

• Mycelia considers Indigenous Missions as a real public good that can address complex challenges, we want Web3 to support them.
• We are working to support Indigenous Public Goods (IPGs) and find ways to make their voices louder in Web3.
• Brazil's Indigenous Women are at the heart of societal shift, but are still among the poorest and most mistreated populations in the world. This campaign is focused to support research on the importance of Indigenous Women in Brazil and how technology could help them. 
• Avelin Buniacá Kambiwá, co-founder of Mycelia, will coordinate this campaign in the name of all Indigenous Women she is working with, and will raise her voice in Gitcoin Radio. 

Quick contextualization 

During the Beta Round and GG18 we were looking at how to bridge Indigenous causes to Web3. Our last discovery was to consider their mission as a real public good. This economic approach of Indigenous Public Goods is to encourage funding of Indigenous Projects through allocation mechanisms such as Grant Stack and other Web3 primitives.

In this context, we want more R&D to gain maturity around concepts such as Indigenous Public Goods and to develop a grounded narrative for sponsors and projects wishing to fund Indigenous Public Goods. **This is the reason why we are focusing GG19 on the work of Avelin Buniacá Kambiwá.

Other work since GG18: 

• Present in the NY Climate Week to translate Indigenous Women on stage;

• Present in the 3rd ‘Indigenous Women March’ in Brasilia, highlighted by Giveth

• Gitcoin Citizens with Mathilde as a translator of the Indigenous Voices in Gitcoin; 

• A Giveth Campaign and support and preparation for Artizen Season 4

Retornando à Mãe Terra by Avelin Buniacá Kambiwá

Who is Avelin Buniacá Kambiwá? 🐆⚜️

Avelin Buniacá Kambiwá is a Brazilian indigenous woman, a member of the Kambiwá people, based in the hinterland of Pernambuco, North of Brazil. As an Indigenous Person in diaspora, Avelin today lives in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais.

• 🐆 Indigenous — The Kambiwá are Indigenous People living in the northeastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco (Kambiwá meaning “return to Serra Negra", a sacred mountain they were expelled from that is central to their identity). They are remnants of several Indigenous groups that inhabited the region's mountains and were persecuted and expelled by colonizers starting in the 17th century. Today around 3,100 Kambiwá live in several villages in the municipalities of Ibimirim, Inajá and Floresta and still preserve rituals such as the Praiá and Toré dances, and value their elders' knowledge and oral traditions where spirituality is very important for their ethnic identity. You want to learn more about the Kambiwá Peoples ? 👉👉 The Kambiwá People

• 🔎 Researcher — Researcher in the area of human rights, with a focus on Indigenous and Women's rights. Avelin has a degree in Social Sciences from the Methodist University of São Paulo and is currently studying for a master's degree in the Postgraduate Program in Occupation Studies at the Federal University of Minas Gerais.

• 🏛️ Indigenous Representative — Avelin was the first Indigenous Woman in the brazilian state of Minas Gerais to stand for election as a state representative;

• 🏹 Founder and Leader —  Founder and coordinator of the Minas Gerais Indigenous Committee (CIM) for more than 12 years, and co-founder of Mycelia. 

• ✊ Guerreira — Avelin actively participates in the movements and political articulations of Indigenous Peoples, with an emphasis on women's issues.

• 📚 Writer — Avelin is the author of several articles and academic papers on human rights, Indigenous Peoples, violence against women and the fight against racism, among other topics.

• 💃 Artist — Avelin is also a poet, singer (her voice in introduction of the Official video of Indigenous Voices for the C20-G20) and art educator who uses music and art as tools for political and cultural expression and raised Indigenous Voices on Rock In Rio 2022 main stage with @Gojiraofficia. 

Twitter : @AvelinBuniaca  Instagram :Avelin Kambiwá

“Retornando à Mãe Terra“ Research

The aim of Avelin's research within Mycelia is to highlight the importance of Indigenous Cultures, with a specific focus on Indigenous Women in Brazil and how technologies (especially Web3) could help them to preserve their self-determination and protect their rights. Avelin has been working on this research since June 2023. 

• The first angle of her research was to study decolonization in the socio-cultural behavior of contemporary Indigenous organizations. 
• Setting up interviews with Indigenous Institutions : Retornando a Mãe terra: a descolonização do pensamento e das nossas organizações

Avelin :  “This first study encountered a number of difficulties due to the lack of access to a stable Internet network. Because they are located in the Roraima forest region, in the territory of the Yanomami people, even closer to Boa Vista. In general, the region suffers from poor Internet connectivity and the few, precarious data services available, which, while limited in scope and quality, are extremely costly for any indigenous community”.

➡ ️ The conclusion is that the reality with technology is really complex for Indigenous Peoples in LATAM, and it can only be achieved with a minimal investment on Internet Infrastructure and a formation.

• Second research angle : Avelin proposed to expand her research to a new framework, under the question of the importance of Indigenous Women as a crucial role for the preservation of future generations and creation of new social organisation. The link with Web3 may seem less obvious than the decentralization of Indigenous Institutions, yet it is even more profound, Indigenous Women in Brazil who most need access to these new technologies to self-organize, support their economy and fight domestic violence, both communal and external.

“The sacredness of the female being in various cultures has been suppressed for the purposes of domination in a system in crisis, resulting in a rupture of women's fundamental link with the land and their territory”. Defending Indigenous Women rights might be the ultimate way to regenerate the world and preserve future generations.

For this second research angle we also started to show Avelin how to use Claude-AI from Antropic, so far it has been a great experience for her, and opens new questions on how AI could assist Indigenous Peoples to defend their rights.

Raising Indigenous Voices in Web3

Together with 6 Indigenous representatives of different ethnic groups of Brazil, Avelin has been participating and raising her voice during GG17 and GG18 Gitcoin Radio. An action that we want to keep on and increase during GG19 while also implementing Video Live sessions so as to share images from different Indigenous communities and projects . 

🟢 Use of funds 🟢

This campaign is dedicated for the research of Avelin, so it will be used to:

• Enable Avelin to continue her full time work in the field;
• Facilitate Avelin travels to reach Indigenous Women events and meetings;
• Purchase better equipment for her mission to run interviews;
• Facilitate the communication and translation of her research;

Also there is a possibility to set up an emergency fund for Indigenous women in situations of distress and violence; 

*For this campaign, funds will be sent directly to the wallet of Avelin Buniacá Kambiwá: 0x68B620887F7620b64809dd820e0bC73349D0970f 

Wrapping up (🍄,🟢)

Mycelia's mission is to link the anti-colonial freedoms of Indigenous Peoples with technological tools that promote and encourage self-determination, decentralization and the democratization of finance for communities.

Future is Ancestral, and if like us you want to defend the roots of humanity to preserve future generations, come to support Mycelia and the voices of Indigenous Peoples in GG19. 

List of the current Indigenous Ethnic Groups we are connected with, mainly from LATAM (Note, at this stage only few ethnic groups of this list learned about Mycelia, but are part of our direct network). 

• Algonquin
• Ashuar
• Aymara
• Desana
• Huni Kuin
• Iny Karajá
• Guarani
• Kambiwá
• Kichwa Sarayaku
• Kukuma
• Munduruku
• Noke Koi
• Paiter Surui
• Quechua
• Sami
• Sapara
• Shanenawa
• Shipibo
• Tupinambá
• Witoto
• Yawanawa