We introduced the Alternatives to Violence Project to a few of our partner communities in the Peruvian Amazon in 2018. By early 2022, we had completed two full workshop cycles with a cadre of native apprentice facilitators ready to join a facilitation team. Unfortunately, few people from their communities seemed interested to participate in a Basic workshop. We hoped other communities might like to give this program a try.
On Saturday afternoon, Yully Rojas, Marianela Olaza Arimuya and I took a motorcar from Pebas to the Yagua community of Santa Lucia de Pro. We moved four benches in the community meeting building into a square so people would face each other.
As our start time came and went with only four people present, we were worried our attempt to introduce AVP to this village and neighboring Betania would be short-lived. We were pleasantly surprised that half an hour later, we had added two more benches to accommodate 18 adult participants and some children.
The mini-workshop went well. People welcomed having community agreements focused on respectful listening and behavior. They liked feeling encouraged and safe to share personal experiences. They loved the “light and lively” activities which generated a lot of laughter. Some people immediately expressed their desire to do the full three-day Basic workshop. We told them we would be happy to organize this when they got commitments from at least 16 people to attend.
It was great to see Marianela facilitate in a workshop for the first time, but our failure to convene our usual pre-workshop team meeting left her trying to lead some topics with no preparation.
The other challenge was recognizing that one elder woman who was the traditional leader ("apu") of her community was struggling to understand the questions in Spanish since her native language was Yagua. In Brillo Nuevo, our bilingual facilitators could translate Spanish into Bora when needed, but the Yagua communities in the Ampiyacu have very few native speakers, and most of their residents are non-native mestizos.
We saw a wide variety of tiny tetras, angel fish, arawanas, pirañas, electric eels, spotted stingrays, striped catfish, beautiful discus and other popular ornamental species. They also had sabalo whose export for the aquarium trade is banned since it is a vital source of protein and income for fishing families in the region.
The Marca Loreto gives Garza Viva the right to use the brand for two years. Its benefits include officially recognizing the quality of our products and certifies they were genuinely made in Loreto. This seal can increase their appeal and prestige at local, national, and international levels and create opportunities to participate in national and international events and fairs to increase visibility and sales.
"I had heard about marketing before, but didn't I didn't quite understand what it meant. Now I know how it can help us share the story behind our crafts and reach more people." - Angelica - artisan from Ancon Colonia
