Minga of thought in the Inga Indigenous Resguardo of San Miguel de la Castellana

On May 14, 2023, at the San Miguel de la Castellana Inga Indigenous Resguardo, a minga de pensamiento convened by ACIMVIP with the Norwegian Human Rights Fund was held to characterize the context and analyze risk, within the framework of the project “Baitawami kincharirkani, waira mana iaikungapa” (“I protected myself with a shawl, so that the wind would not get in”). The attendance list records 28 people.

It was the third of the five mingas de pensamiento held between 12 and 16 May 2023 in the communities of Nukanchipa Taita Kausadiru, Blasiaku, San Miguel de la Castellana, Cachiacu Andaki and Albania, so that the Authorities, Chaskis, Wasikamas and women leaders could learn about and strengthen individual and collective protection tools. The exercise began by identifying community activities, relevant events and security incidents of the previous two years, and from there the community's capacities, vulnerabilities and capacities to be strengthened were analysed.

Altogether, 117 people took part in the five mingas of May 2023, 70 of them women, from different generations, accompanied by the Governors and by the wise grandmothers and the taitas as spiritual authorities. According to the project report, no security incidents occurred during the stay of the Human Rights Coordination team. In November 2023 the exercise was extended to five other communities, bringing the project to a total of ten mingas de pensamiento and 209 participants, 124 of them women.