Gatherings - Ancestral Voices in Community

In Collaboration with community members and traditional knowledge keepers.

We understand the universe as a vast woven fabric: an intricate weave, just like everything in nature. Each thread is connected; when one is pulled, the entire tapestry shifts. This is the delicate balance of life, and it is why we must learn not to unravel, but to weave, to mend, and to knot.

These Gatherings are an invitation to listen deeply, to work collectively, and to imagine otherwise. We co-create a space for mutual learning and respectful exchange between humans and non-human beings, where different knowledges intertwine and grow together, much like a woven fabric; interconnecting the voice of nature in the shared communal dialogue

Through shared experiences in nature, craft, sound, storytelling, restoration, films, film festivals and more, we aim to weave meaningful knots of connection and hope.

Co-creating relationships that extend beyond the timeframe of this program.

"Let’s reimagine what collaboration can mean: Rooted in care, reciprocity, and committed, ongoing action."

Flowing Toward Community Healing

A community-based encounter where yoga, storytelling, and Amazonian wisdom open new pathways for emotional resilience and planetary belonging. As part of the Planetary Embassy in Belém during the UN climate summit COP30, in collaboration with INEXO Verde and AYELE Projects; this gathering weaves movement, breath, and lived experiences to highlight the importance of community mental health as a pillar of climate justice.

Inner Rivers draws inspiration from the story of Ana Cardoso, a riverside woman from Ilha do Combu, whose journey reflects the strength and transformative potential present across Amazonian communities. Through interviews, guided practice, and a walk through the Goeldi’s living landscape, participants will explore how simple tools, presence, listening, breath, can nurture individual and collective flourishing.

The full amount collected in this event will be donated to the community of Ana Cardoso, a riverside woman from Ilha do Combu.

The Planetary Embassy is presented by Swissnex in Brazil with the support of Presence Switzerland, as part of the Road to Belém program led by the Embassy of Switzerland in Brazil.

The residency emerges from the historical and ecological context of the Tsáchila nation, marked by the impacts of colonization, loss of territory, environmental contamination, and the risk of cultural and linguistic disappearance.

The program includes workshops and activities focused on:

-Weaving and cultural preservation, alongside Tsáchila women artisans who work with paja toquilla.

-Ecological restoration, using Analog Forestry methodologies and participating in planting ceremonies.

-Sound and music, exploring ancestral songs and contemporary sound practices around the ceremonial marimba.

-Cinema and community storytelling, through story circles, collaborative filmmaking, and the creation of community media.

-Rights of Nature

-Alternative Economic Systems

-Indigenous Knowledge & Land Practices

-Creative Approaches to Problem Solving

-Territory and body

Background:

For centuries, the Tsáchilas have lived in the region that is now Ecuador. Colonization not only led to the killing and displacement of Indigenous people but also to the theft of natural resources, the suppression of cultural practices, and the loss of their language. Almost 60% of the native tongue has gone completely lost. The forests that used to be their protective territories, are now almost destroyed. 

Today, the few remaining Tsáchilas strive to maintain their way of life, their language, and their traditions. However, the increasing pollution, industrial agriculture, and urbanization — in sum, capitalism— continue to have a significant and negative impact in these communities. 

One of the most urgent issues is the lack of access to clean drinking water and electricity, due to the contamination of the rivers in the surrounding areas. This directly affects the community’s health, food security, and cultural practices. We believe that the solutions to these challenges must be creative, ecological, and rooted in community collaboration.

This program takes a pluralistic and transdisciplinary approach, moving beyond "argument culture" and boundaries set by (academic? artistic?) disciplines. Here, everyday problems and questions concerning community life and restorative living define the landscape, not the disciplines themselves. This allows for a unified and applicable body of knowledge to emerge.

About the location:

La Floreana is a long-term ecological restoration project located in Santo Domingo de Los Tsáchilas, Ecuador. It serves as an experimental research base for tropical forest regeneration by mimicking the structure, function, and diversity of primary forests through principles of Analog Forestry. Over the years, La Floreana has hosted and facilitated gatherings, environmental education workshops, and biological research in collaboration with REFA.

Inspired by the metaphor of the woven fabric as a form of relationship and balance.

TEJER-NOS is an invitation to listen deeply, imagine otherwise, and weave possible futures rooted in care, reciprocity, and ongoing collective action. The residency aims to build lasting relationships, networks of solidarity, and impactful collaborative processes.