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Support Tchendukua at the checkout in Maisons du Monde stores as part of the ARRONDI en caisse scheme
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Tchendukua is the current project benefitting from the ARRONDI en caisse (Rounding up at the till) scheme in all Maisons du Monde stores in France. The association helps the Kogi, Wiwa and Arhuaco peoples legally recover their ancestral land in Colombia. It is an essential project that helps safeguard their cultures and protect their environment. From 10 January 2023, all the micro-donations of spare change through the ARRONDI en caisse scheme in Maisons du Monde stores across France will be donated to Tchendukua, to be put towards its project “Helping the Kogi, Wiwa and Arhuaco peoples recover their ancestral land”.
Spotlight on the association's project
In Colombia, the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta mountain range is one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots for the conservation of protected species. But, today, but only 17% of its original forests remain. This region is also home to the Kogi, Wiwa and Arhuaco indigenous populations. As a result of colonisation, coca cultivation and drug trafficking, these groups were gradually stripped of their lands. That’s why Tchendukua decided to act.
With initial support from the Maisons du Monde Foundation between 2018 and 2020, the association has taken important steps to enable the Kogi and Wiwa peoples to recover their ancestral lands. The initial goal of the partnership, based on the acquisition of 170 hectares of ancestral land in the Mendihuaca River Valley, has now been comfortably met, with 685 hectares having been being recovered. This has resulted in 700 people being resettled on their land! To take the project even further, the Maisons du Monde Foundation has renewed its partnership with the association until 2024.
The funds collected through customer donations to the ARRONDI en caisse scheme will help:
- Support the Kogi, Wiwa and Arhuaco in recovering a further 250 hectares of land at least, by providing training on legal processes.
- Assist between 15 and 20 families settle in, regenerate biodiversity and transfer ancestral knowledge to younger generations.
- Promote dialogue between indigenous and non-indigenous people to raise awareness of the need to preserve these cultures and ecosystems.
For more information, visit the project page on the MDM Foundation website or the association’s website.
