Judith Nunta is proud to be indigenous. The Shipibo-Konibo leader is responsible for the Indigenous Women's Program of the Regional Organization Interethnic Association for the Development of the Peruvian Rainforest AIDESEP-Ucayali (ORAU) and is optimistic about what the current and future generation of indigenous women leaders will achieve in defense of their forests. As head of ORAU's Women's Program, she seeks to establish an institutional policy that directs the participation of indigenous women in the development and defense of their territory and promotes their local, regional, and national development.
In this sense, promoting the leadership and participation of indigenous women is a very personal interest of Judith and the same reason that motivated her to apply for and become a grantee of another program, the Amazon Indigenous Women's Program of Conservation International. Through a fund that the scholarship recipients of this program receive to lead their own environmental and cultural initiatives, the program seeks to strengthen their leadership and skills, building spaces for exchange and dialogue that improve the quality of life in the communities of Amazonia.
We spoke with Judith about her project, her motivation to defend the territory, and her experience this past year as a member of the scholarship program.
Tell us about your project
The objective of my project was to strengthen the capacities of indigenous women from ORAU's grassroots federations in three areas: secure territory, climate change, and forests, and full participation.
I worked with 30 women from the Masisea Indigenous District Organization (ORDIM). I conducted training in the communities and also organized activities in Pucallpa, bringing women to exchange experiences on monitoring, territory, climate change and many other issues. All this, with the purpose of promoting women's leadership and participation in decision-making spaces in their communities.
Are there any achievements you would like to highlight?
The Community Surveillance Committees. Before I saw many women who did not participate in the meetings, they did not know how many hectares their community had, and with which other communities they bordered. I am very happy to see these communities strengthened. Now the vigilance committees in each community are made up of 10 people, 5 women, and 5 men.
How did you become interested in working in an indigenous organization?
I never thought of becoming a regional leader; I was always motivated by working for the good of indigenous women.
The process has been very important for me. I began in 2009 as a leader, representing the community of San Rafael, where I learned about the territory and began to love the forests and their importance because there we have our "cochas", our markets, our food, and our medicinal plants.
Then I joined the indigenous district federation of Masisea organizing activities with indigenous women until I arrived at ORAU where I was elected to be responsible for the Women's Program.
It is a great responsibility.
It is a responsibility and a commitment to all the bases to reach the most remote communities.
ORAU covers 15 indigenous peoples and 13 federations, and each federation has secretariats headed by women who represent their communities, and I feel like the mother of these 13 women, and they are the mothers of the women in their communities. I am there, fighting for indigenous women to have an essential role in decision-making spaces.
How would you describe your experience in the Amazon Indigenous Women's Program?
It has been a beautiful experience. Meeting my colleagues from the 7 countries at the meeting in Ecuador, getting to know their different dialects and customs. I feel very proud of what I have been able to achieve with this fellowship, and to represent Peru together with my other classmates (Cecilia Martinez, Gabriela Loaiza, and Nelyda Entsakua, scholarship recipients of the first generation of the program).
Now that your scholarship is ending, what are your plans for the future?
I want to apply for more projects, this time focused on working with young women. They are the future of their community, their organizations, and the country.
Is there a message you would like to leave for the next generation of grantees?
Let's keep working for our communities. The work of indigenous women has always borne fruit; we already have professional indigenous women. We have sociologists, doctors, engineers, we have a vice-minister. Let us be proud to be indigenous.