This fund will support initiatives to address food security, territorial defense, cultural strengthening and others.

Peru is a unique country, it ranks ninth in the world in extent of forests, with more than 73 million hectares. Currently, 20% of that territory, equivalent to 15 million hectares, is owned or managed by native communities, where about 2,250 indigenous communities live, due to their love for the forest, they maintain the lowest rates of deforestation.
 

In these indigenous territories there are various productive projects led by women, who contribute to the family economy and are characterized by their constant effort and perseverance. These are mothers, wives and daughters who seek not only to contribute to their community and its food security, but are also strongly committed to the conservation and management of their territories, and to their growth and autonomy.
 

In order to continue promoting their projects, the “Amazon Woman” Indigenous Fund (FIMA) was created, and seeks to strengthen the leadership and protagonism of indigenous women who belong to the federations and base organizations of AIDESEP. As a result of their first edition, after an arduous selection process, five winners from the regions of Ucayali, Junin and Cusco were selected, each of them will receive up to 18 thousand soles that will allow them to promote their ventures.

"This help makes us happy and allows us to preserve and multiply our ancestral knowledge, in a difficult time of pandemic." We will do the best job to develop initiatives that strengthen our community, detailed Susana Patricia Silva Morales, FIMA winner who belongs to the Ashaninka Bajo Urubamba Federation.

The process of summoning the first edition of FIMA continues, 8 scholarships are still available. To know the application bases, we invite you to visit www.fondomujerfima.org
 

About FIMA:
 

The “Amazon Woman” Indigenous Fund - FIMA is an initiative led by AIDESEP in alliance with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) within the framework of the Indigenous Amazon Rights and Resources (AIRR), to strengthen the presence of indigenous women with their initiatives, with a rights approach.
 

Meet the winners and their ventures:

Susana Patricia Silva Morales of the Lower Urubamba Ashaninka Federation , with the initiative “Starting point for the reactivation of ancestral saumerium to live with COVID-19, of the communities, to a better living, in times of national health emergency in the Amazon Peruvian” looking to rescue the ancestral knowledge and promoting the reforestation of medicinal plants. 

Esther Melendez Carolina from Central Ashaninka del Río Ene (CARE) , with the initiative “Entrepreneurship in the cultivation and transformation of Sacha Inchi, considered a superfood for food security purposes, in the native community of Pichiquia in the lower basin of the Ene River ”. This initiative will strengthen the work that indigenous women of the Lower Ene basin have been doing for the food security of children, in addition, it seeks to complement the diet of the Asháninca family for consumption. 

Cecilia Brito Vásquez from the Federation of Native Communities of Ucayali and Affluents - FECONAU , with the initiative "Implementation of family vegetable gardens in the Puerto Firmeza NPP", which will promote food and economic sovereignty of the families of the mentioned native community.
 

Emith Timpia Semperi of the Machiguenga Council of the Urubamba River (COMARU ), with the initiative "Improving the capacities for food security of families living in poverty in the CCNN of Timpia in the district of Megantoni - province of La Convencion - department of Cusco" , which has the physical conditions and improve the capacities and potentialities of self-management for safe and sustainable food over time for families in poverty conditions of the Timpia NPP.

And finally, María de los Ángeles Río Cesareo from the Regional Coordinator of Indigenous Peoples AIDESEP Atalaya, (CORPIAA) , with the initiative "The indigenous woman and her role in rescuing the ancestral culture of the original peoples of the province of Atalaya" which strengths the capacities of indigenous women from three native communities, rescuing the ancestral culture of native peoples through the making of handicrafts, application of medicinal plants to improve diseases, strengthening the native language and spirituality.