Guna Yala, the land of the Guna, is a semi-autonomous region in the north of Panama on the Caribbean coast. Since the revolution in , the Guna have owned their land and the exclusive right to use natural resources. Its diverse, centuries-old indigenous culture is today subject to many influences.
The pillars of the project at Wargandup, Digir, Niadup, Uggubseni and Dad NaggweDubbir are environmental education, marine protected areas MPA , sustainable agriculture and waste management.
For the implementation, special commissions have been formed and trained by the municipalities. The main function of these commissions, which are supported by an environmental educator, is to control and promote marine protected areas, the provision of environmental education on relevant topics in the respective communities, the promotion of waste management eg. Environmental education, marine protected areas, sustainable fisheries and sustainable organic farming have been constant activities since , have evolved to adapt to specific needs and situations and are as important as ever.
The extraordinary inertia of the Panamanian governmental authorities and their mysterious bureaucracy made it impossible for a long time to advance the official affairs of our cooperative e. On a local level, however, things are progressing slowly in every community. All five branches of the cooperative are active and up to date with the payment of their monthly contributions.
The cooperatives trade in agricultural products and are busy raising money every week. The most important obstacle is the lack of a marketing structure such as markets or shops to sell the products.
