ACUN Panama
Empowering Indigenous Ngäbe-Buglé Communities Through Women's Leadership, Cultural Heritage Preservation, and Food Sovereignty
Partner:
Ngäbe Cultural Action (ACUN)
Location:
Ngäbe-Buglé Communities, Panama
Themes:
Food Security, Indigenous Rights
Start Date:
April 2025 – March, 2030
Project Summary
This project is being implemented by Horizons in partnership with our Panamanian partner, Ngäbe Cultural Action (ACUN) and provides three isolated communities and 30 marginalized, Indigenous families in Panama with the tools and education needed.
Key Achievements
- Point 1: Food security. Through this project, ACUN will support women’s groups in improving local production of chicken eggs, increasing availability of protein and economic opportunities in five communities.
- Point 2: Language. This project will continue to strengthen and value the languages of Ngäbere and Buglé, As ACUN has been accredited to carry out the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in July of 2024, and
- Point 3: Community education, as tools will be provided to ACUN to design and implement training modules including courses, seminars, workshops etc., on issues relating to food security and sovereignty and Indigenous human rights and culture, for individuals and institutions with decision-making capacity in Panama.
This project aims to improve the lives of approximately 2,500 people living in seven Indigenous communities from the Ngäbe-Buglé Region in Panama. It is important to note that the communities being supported by this project are in extremely remote locations, only accessible to the ACUN team after hours of walking on foot. With this in mind, we are proud of the progress our partner has been able to achieve, as community development has been steady and positive results have ensued. The responsibility of many aspects of this project falls on the women in these communities, and ACUN has supported these women with training, technical support and materials.