Our Programs
Las Lianas partners with indigenous nationalities of Ecuador as they claim and exercise their collective rights and establish greater autonomy for their peoples. Our initiatives are helping Amazonian nationalities to gain title to ancestral lands while crafting new land ownership models; win recognition of indigenous legal systems within Ecuadorian law; and contribute to the implementation of the new constitutional principal establishing Ecuador as a "plurinational" state. Read more
Las Lianas collaborates with indigenous communities of Ecuador's Amazon region in the design and extension of fish farming systems that compliment other economic activities of rainforest families. We use native fish, local knowledge and appropriate technologies to increase food security while preserving the rainforest environment. Read more
The oil and mining industries create serious social, environmental, and cultural impacts. Indigenous peoples are disproportionally affected because of their historical political exclusion, their ties to and reliance on the land, and their vulnerability as cultural minorities. Las Lianas supports Ecuador's indigenous peoples in the exercise of their collective rights in the face of threats caused by extractive industries. Read more
Cultural Exchange
Las Lianas promotes the exchange of ideas and experiences between indigenous groups, within Ecuador and internationally, around issues of rights, culture , and development. We helped organize two recent international cultural exchanges between indigenous educators, musicians, artists, and other cultural workers from Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Guatemala, and the US. We have brought together fish farmers from isolated Amazonian communities to share knowledge and skills. We have participated in a variety of indigenous conferences and exchanges related to collective rights, indigenous justice, and the plurinational state.
Past work
In addition to the programs described above, Las Lianas' past projects have included support for the Secoya people in northeast Ecuador in their work to create a code of conduct to regulate oil development in their territory, and establishment of community-based environmental monitoring of oil exploration on their land. We have also carried out research and developed several reports related to "Plan Colombia" and the human and environmental effects of U.S. sponsored aerial herbicide spraying in the Amazon region.