During the month of September 2024, the Basic Environmental Plan – Indigenous Component (PBA-CI) and the Guarani Mbyá Cultural Assets Management Program promoted a series of actions aimed at strengthening the indigenous communities on the coast of Paraná.
Trips to access the traditional medicine of the Guarani people, equipment repairs, telephone and internet costs, monitoring and various supplies were funded, covering all the villages.
The Pindoty village community decided to close its old Community Association, which had existed since 2013, in order to found a new entity. As part of the structuring process, a training workshop on associations was organized, given by a lawyer specialized in the subject. During the event, topics related to the new association’s statute, legal and practical aspects of associationism were discussed, as well as presentations and debates between the registered candidates. The statute was detailed and the new board was elected, marking a new stage for the community.
The September agenda also included territorial management and the planning of cultural activities. In Karaguatá Poty, discussions were held on the construction of the Culture Center and the Guarani Seminar. The community also took part in computer classes, with the creation of a fanpage to disseminate information about the village.
In the Guaviraty village, computer training was provided, as well as planning for territorial monitoring and community tourism. Progress was also monitored on the construction of the treehouse and the planting of an orchard began, with the aim of diversifying the food supply and restoring the vegetation cover on the Indigenous Land. A workshop was also held on research techniques in the Human Sciences, with the aim of strengthening the work of indigenous researchers on issues related to Mbyá Guarani culture and history.
Agroforestry management actions included a workshop on traditional planting techniques in the Pindoty village, led by Sebastião, a shamói (elder).
In the Karaguatá Poty and Guaviraty villages, there were also workshops introducing the National Policy for Territorial and Environmental Management of Indigenous Lands (PNGATI). The communities also took part in cultivation, fertilization and agricultural planning activities, with the delivery of equipment and inputs to support the work.
As part of the Guarani Mbyá Cultural Assets Management Program, which serves IPHAN, there was training, the delivery of audiovisual equipment and the planning of the exhibition “Mbyá Rekó Arandu – A Cultura Guarani Mbyá do Litoral Paranaense”, scheduled for 2025. The activities focused on building the exhibition’s narrative, organizing shared curatorial meetings and selecting cultural records.
The Cerco Grande village, in Guaraqueçaba, received training and audiovisual production equipment, with the aim of instructing the community to produce their own cultural records.
Meliponiculture activities were also a highlight, with the establishment of eight colonies of stingless bees and an introductory course on the cultivation of native bees in the Araçaí and Pindoty villages. Also in Araçaí, plans were made to renovate the opy (“opã”, prayer house) and a violin was delivered.
In the village of Kuaray Haxá, in Antonina/PR, musical instruments were given to the prayer house and audiovisual recordings were made based on interviews with the village leaders.