RROMUEPATSRO: Mapping the Historical-Cultural Space of the Yanesha, Perú

This video is the first in a series titled “Where Our Ancestors Walked: Mapping the Historical-Cultural Space of the Yanesha People,” which was made in collaboration with the Yanesha people in order to preserve their history and its relation with their territory as sacred landscape. Rromuepatsro presents the Yanesha people, located in the eastern slope of the Peruvian central Andes, and explores their vital relationship with their ancestors and the natural landscape. It shows how they have used PGIS, anthropological research and Yanesha oral history to map their historical cultural space and thus reaffirm their millennial link to the ancient world and the civilization of the central Andes.

This video has been produced in Spanish and English by the Instituto del Bien Común (IBC), Lima, Perú.

Reviving our culture, Mapping our future

The story of a special gathering in Venda, South Africa, and a community process in eco-cultural mapping. Indigenous leaders from Altai (Russia) and the Colombian Amazon, and NGO representatives from South Africa, Kenya and Ethiopia, accompany Tshidvizhe community as they explore a simple yet powerful way to express the past and present of their territory and livelihoods onto hand-drawn maps. The maps highlight the importance of their culture, sacred sites and territory, and empower them to map the future they need to strive for.

Production: The Gaia Foundation, African Biodiversity Network (ABN), Mupo Foundation and the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation ACP-EU (CTA).

Participatory mapping at IFAD

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) is implementing the project “Piloting IFAD’s Participatory Mapping Approach for Specific Livelihoods” through innovative twinning arrangements.

The second phase of the project has focused on participatory mapping. As a result IFAD published “Good Practices in Participatory Mapping” and the “IFAD Adaptive Approach to Participatory Mapping”.

The next phase is focusing is participatory monitoring and evaluation of participatory mapping processes.

Below are the main outcomes of the second phase:

• The International Fund for Agricultural Development (Corbett J. M.) (2009) “ Good practices in participatory mapping.” The International Fund for Agricultural Development, Rome, Italy. 55 pages.

•  Le Fonds international de développement agricole (Corbett J. M.) 2009. Cartographie participative et bonnes pratiques. Le Fonds international de développement agricole (FIDA), Rome, Italie. 59 pages 

• El Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (Corbett J.M) 2009. Buenas prácticas en cartografía participativa. Análisis preparado para el Fondo Internacional de Desarrollo Agrícola (FIDA). Roma, Italia. 59 paginas

• The International Fund for Agricultural Development (Corbett J. M.) (2010) “Adaptive Mapping: IFAD Design and Delivery of Participatory Mapping Projects.” The International Fund for Agricultural Development, Rome, Italy. pp. 47

Whose Map? | ¿De Quién Son Los Mapas? | à qui appartiennent les cartes ? English / français/ español

In recent years, changes in participatory methodologies (PMs) may have been even more rapid than those in spatial technologies. Local people's abilities to make maps only became widely known and facilitated in the early 1990s. In this article Dr. Robert Chambers argues that participatory mapping has spread like a pandemic with many variants and applications not only in natural resource management but also in many other domains. With mapping as one element, there are now signs of a new pluralist eclecticism and creativity in PMs. The medium and means of mapping, whether ground, paper or GIS and the style and mode of facilitation, influence who takes part, the nature of outcomes and power relationships. Much depends on the behaviour and attitudes of facilitators and who controls the process. Many ethical issues present troubling dilemmas, and lead to overarching questions about empowerment and ownership. Questions to be asked, again and again, are: Who is empowered and who disempowered? And, who gains and who loses?

Below is the original article published on  EJISDC, an open access journal, and translations in French and Spanish done in the context of the development of the "Training Kit on Participatory Spatial Information Managamant and Communication" soon to be published by CTA and IFAD.

• Robert Chambers. 2006. Participatory Mapping and Geographic Information Systems: Whose Map? Who is Empowered and Who Disempowered? Who Gains and Who Loses? EJISDC 25, 2, 1-11

• Robert Chambers. 2006. El Mapeo Participativo Y Los Sistemas De Información Geográfica: ¿De Quién Son Los Mapas? ¿Quién Se Empodera Y Quién Se Desempodera? ¿Quién Gana Y Quién Pierde? EJISDC 25, 2, 1-14 - Traducido y publicado por: Centro Técnico para la Cooperación Agricultural y Rural ACP-EU (CTA), 2010. Con la autorización de: EJISDC

• Robert Chambers. 2006. Cartographie participative et systèmes d’information géographique : à qui appartiennent les cartes ? Qui en ressort renforcé, qui en ressort affaibli ? Qui gagne et qui perd ? EJISDC 25, 2, 1-14 - Traduit et publié par le Centre Technique de Coopération Agricole et Rurale (CTA) avec la permission d’EJISDC

Here is a related interview with Robert Chambers subtitled in 10 languages (you can embed this video on your blog or web site!)