The Connected Forest

ACT’s relationship with the Waura people dates from 2003, when ACT and 14 tribes of the Xingu Indigenous Park (PIX) began collaborative ethnographic and land use mapping of the territory. In 2010, the chieftain Atamai asked ACT to help a small group of Waura move to a 7,000-hectare area in the far southwest sector of the territory. In 2011, ACT supported the establishment of a new settlement in this location on a tributary of the Batovi River, named Ulupuene. Subsequently, ACT sponsored the creation of a representative organization for these Waura, the Ulupuene Indigenous Association. The village, home to approximately 100 Waura, is fully established with 12 malocas (longhouses) and cassava gardens, and provides a border presence in the southwest corner of the territory. Since 2012, ACT has supported the village’s efforts to ensure a sustainable food supply, through sustainable agriculture installations, and to protect their local environment through expeditions to collect trash from outside the reserve that washes up in their creek beds. Village discussions have been held toward the formulation of a consensus plan to protect the area’s large mammals. Efforts are also underway to establish means of sustainable income generation for the villagers, especially focused on the efforts of women. Local appropriate education is an additional area of emphasis: ACT has sponsored the construction of a school and training center in the village, as well as the teaching certification of several Waura.