As a pioneering project in Colombia, Contactar and the Yanakona community of the Intillagta Reserve in Pitalito, Huila have joined forces to promote My country – ÑUKAPA ALPA, Finance with an ethnic sense, a model of inclusion and financial education, focused on the restoration of ancestral knowledge, which is on the verge of extinction, and the acquisition of knowledge in the native language, from an early age.
“We are grateful to work with the Yanakona community to build the first financial education guide in Runa Shimi to help restore their ancestral language and knowledge through this student support tool, which we dream of “passing this knowledge down from generation to generation and succeeding contribute to a fairer and more inclusive country,” assured the President of Contactar, Paulo Emilio Rivas Ortiz.
The initiative will be applied in 4 Yanakona Community Education Centers in Pitalito, Huilaand it will significantly affect it the work of 27 community facilitators in training educators and 235 students in resource management issues.
The primer with which it materializes My country – ÑUKAPA ALPA, Finance with an ethnic sensein the language of Runa Shimi, seeks financial education for students from grades three to five by considering three thematic modules: Let’s Take Care of Our Pacha Mama!, Responsible Savings in My School and Home, and Using the Waste We Save and Take Care of for.
In addition, there are plans to create a brochure for high school students to learn first-hand about the value of money, green shopping, savings options, and sustainable living projects.
This initiative with the Yanakona community in Pitalito, Huila, is considered by Contactar as a pilot project for replication with more indigenous people in the area of influence of the entity that today has coverage in 18 departments of the country with 94 commercial offices in Colombia.
Why is the project important to the Yanakona community?
- According to the National Indigenous Organization of Colombia (Onic), the people of Yanakona do not preserve the language of their ancestors, but the community is currently working on a process of restoring identity and traditions. According to the organization, “the Yanakona language, now extinct, belonged to the Quechua linguistic family, and therefore they are trying to re-establish the use of various Quechua languages in their community.” See more: https://www.onic.org.co/pueblos/1162-Yanakonas
- In 2009, Auto 004 of the Constitutional Court included the Yanakona community as one of Colombia’s indigenous peoples on the verge of extinction. Since then, the Colombian state has been tasked with including in its management various alternatives to work hand in hand with communities to restore ancestral cultures. See more: https://www.corteconstitutional.gov.co/relatoria/autos/2009/a004-09.htm
- According to the Danish Census (2018), there are known to be 34,897 people who claim the Yanakona community. This indigenous nation is geographically located according to Onica in Cauca, Valle del Cauca and Huila. See more: https://www.dane.gov.co/files/investigaciones/boletines/grupos-etnicos/presentacion-grupos-etnicos-2019.pdf
Why is this project important to Contactar?
The relationship between the Yanakona community and Contactar goes back a long way. In fact, the Intillagta Reserve where the project is initially being developed My country – ÑUKAPA ALPA, Finance with an ethnic sense was financially supported in 2013 by Contact with the municipal association loan for establishment.
Today, 40 families from this community live in the 5-hectare reserve. There they have the headquarters of the Pachakuti educational institution, the community library, their agricultural activity and a place for decision-making.
This project serves Contactar’s strategic intent to promote financial services accessible to everyone, which means that communities without access are financially included through sustainable microfinance. This means that, in addition to financial services, Contactar accompanies the Yanakona community in the process of restoring the language and culture of their ancestors from an early age and proposes to favor families as part of its offer of comprehensive advice in the field of non-financial services. services.financial.
CurrentlyContactar serves 1,373 aboriginals with a portfolio balance of $6,794 million as of November 2023. Total data in the entity stands at $599,210 million and 141,319 clients in Colombia, during the same period.