Sustainability Projects for Global Ecosystem Preservation

Support Ati Gúndiwa Villafaña Mejia to help her finish building an indigenous traditional educational facility called "MʉRʉNMʉKE"!


Ati is a young woman who is part of the Ikü (Arhuaco) indigenous community that lives in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, Colombia on the Northwestern face of the mountain by the Don Diego river. She is the leader of this amazing project!

Supporting indigenous communities is an important step towards preserving and regenerating the planet. A 2019 study from the University of British Columbia uncovered the following: 

• Many countries currently fall short of meeting targets to curb biodiversity loss.
• Indigenous-managed lands represent one avenue by which national targets can be met.
• Both Indigenous lands and conventional protected lands have high biodiversity.
• Indigenous-managed lands have equal-or-higher biodiversity than protected areas.
• Partnerships with Indigenous communities can ameliorate shortfalls in habitat protection for biodiversity conservation.

The full study can be found at:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1462901119301042

After long hours of hard work and challenging times due to inclement weather the community has successfully completed "Phase 1" of the facility. The foundation of the house is on rocks, sand, and clay. The walls are made out of adobe bricks, and the roof is of wood and palm.

This has all been done with much effort and dedication by the community that interacts on this multicultural space which we call “Mawianrukun”.

We are greatly appreciative of the support given by many to the development of this project.

The next step is that among all of us and supported by an expert in natural building techniques we can weatherproof the walls with mud plaster, and seal the wood and palm.  

We are also seeking allies that can help us expand on our capacity to generate photovoltaic power and the possibility for unlimited satellite internet access so that the 20 indigenous students that congregate here receive basic , technical , and higher education during the pandemic.

This facility is ours: the Ikü's, yours, and mine- it belongs to all of humanity. It's a multicultural space for knowledge sharing, and knowledge generation. We encourage and welcome scientific and artistic residences focused on multiculturalism, ecology, botany, natural medicine, agroforestry, permaculture, biology, water management, sustainability, and renewable energy. This movement we call the Tecno Eco Ancestral.

Feel free to reach out to info@umukecoffee.com if you would like to contribute to this project beyond the financial support that you can give through this gofundme, or would like to plan a residence at Mawianrukun.