One Heart Many Rhythms Culture

Cultural Conservation—

A secondary focus of One Heart Many Rhythms is to help indigenous communities conserve the unique nature of their cultural expression. We will support projects that help communities preserve their traditions of music, dance, art, and ceremony. We will also provide assistance for reclaiming and rebuilding sites that are sacred to indigenous communities as well as support those communities that make pilgrimages to these sacred sites.

Peru—Andes Youth Group Sponsorship
2004-Present

The Cusi Huayna Youth Group works to keep alive the traditional music, dance, and ritual for the first peoples of the Andes, the Quechua. Members of this group live in rural villages in the region of Peru near the city of Cuzco. The group has been in existence since 2000. Approximately 100 young people have been involved in the group since its formation and the group currently has 30 members ranging in age from 13 to 29. They organize and perform at special events for the various communities in the area. They also compete in dance festivals in the region. Involvement in the group allows young people to become engaged in a constructive activity and provides opportunities for group members to build their community leadership skills. The events they organize promote awareness of their cultural heritage, demonstrate pride in their traditional practices, and increase the interest of other young people to get involved. The long-term dream for the group is to establish a cultural heritage school where young people throughout the region can study.

Peru—Amazon Healer Documentary
2004-2005

The goal of Woven Songs of the Amazon is to document a living Shipibo indigenous healer, Herlinda Augustin and the women in her village of San Francisco. Herlinda’s life work is a unique repertoire of ancient songs (called icaros) which she uses to affect healing of her people and change in the world around her. She and the women of her village are also traditional weavers of the unique textiles of the region. The Shipibo are one of 14 indigenous tribes living in the Amazon basin in Peru and at present consist of around 35,000 people living in over 300 villages in the Pucallpa area situated mainly along the Rio Ucayali. They believe that the universe was sung into being by a giant anaconda, and as she sang, the patterns of her skin covered the universe. The intricate weavings created for centuries by the Shipibo are an ornate representation of the serpent’s skin and, at the same time, are the actual, written music for the songs (icaros). Traditionally, the knowledge of the weaving patterns and songs has been passed down through the women, but due to the recent presence of western influences on the younger generations of women, these traditions are rapidly being lost. This documentary film and recording of the songs explores how the patterns and songs are central to the Shipibo’s way of life and understanding of the world.

Peru—Andes Sacred Pilgrimage Sponsorship
2004-Present

Each year members of the villages near Cusco, Peru make a pilgrimage to their sacred mountain—Apu Oolqepunku. This pilgrimage is in gratitude for the life-connection these people feel for their origins. They believe their prayers, ceremonies, and celebrations bring fertility to our planet and create abundance and generosity for all life. This project provides support for the members of one community to travel the three days it takes to get to the mountain and to participate in the ceremonies while at the site. This promotes the importance of keeping this tradition alive to all community members, both young and old.

Peru—Amazon Art School Sponsorship
2005-Present

The Yarapa School of Art is located at Nyi Camp on the Yarapa Gorge, five hours by boat from Iquitos, Peru. The school seeks to help Amazonian children develop their abilities and creativity in painting. Through their artistic expression they also learn to value their ancestral knowledge of the use of natural tints from the jungle plants and to conserve their natural jungle environment. Children from the nearby communities are invited to attend the three-month program. Overtime, the children progress through three levels of achievement. At the first level, they learn to observe nature and paint landscapes of the Amazonian Jungle using acrylic paint on cardboard. Those who complete the first level move on to research the use of natural tints they make from area plants and use to paint on llanchama, a paper made from tree bark. At the third level, the children learn to make their own paper using organic materials from the area. They use the paper to create three-dimensional objects for daily use such as containers and furniture and decorative objects such as jewelry and shades. Through their work, the children discover new possibilities for becoming potential artists of Neo Amazonian expression. They learn to express their feelings through painting and to value their own work, strengthening their self-esteem. Each child has the opportunity to choose the expression which is best suited to his/her skills and satisfaction.

Canada—Environmental Guardian Support
2005

The Environmental-Aboriginal Guardianship through Law and Education (EAGLE) is an organization founded on the recognition that aboriginal peoples and cultures are intricately tied to the land. They provide First Nations in Canada with a comprehensive, holistic understanding of the laws and procedures of Canada that impact on the environmental and fundamental aboriginal rights. They empower First Nations people to use legal knowledge for the protection of their cultures and the environment. This project is in support of their efforts to develop educational workshops and to distribute educational materials that explain, in layperson’s language, legal precedents and the opportunities they present. This effort protects and restores the natural environment for the good of all future generations, aboriginal and otherwise.

Israel—Traditional Medicine Sponsorship
2007

This project is sponsored by Bustan, a partnership of Jewish and Arab architects, planners, environmental scientists, green-tech entrepreneurs, academics, environmental-builders, and farmers applying their skills towards sustainable allocation of resources in the Negev/Naqab Desert region of Israel. The project supports a learning site in the village of Tel Sheva, near Beer Sheva in collaboration with Bedouin women who practice organic farming to grow traditional herbs used to produce natural soaps and creams. Traditional medicine workshops led by Arab and Jewish herbalists and coordinated by a renowned medicine woman are sponsored each month. Activities include: plant identification walks in the desert, making medicinal preparations using traditional techniques, and skill-shares with other herbalists. The group also sponsors public workshops regarding nutrition and health focused on the importance of preserving a traditional diet suited to the climate and eating organically, locally, and seasonally; targeted in particular to women motivated to trade and document their knowledge of traditional medicine. The project creates alliances between various groups of Bedouin and Jewish women interested in learning about how to sustain the fragile desert environment.

Australia—Aboriginal Cultural Documentary
2007

The Wisdom of Country project addresses the problems of cultural loss and alienation facing remote Aboriginal communities in Australia. It preserves the knowledge contained in the traditional songs, stories, and ceremonies in order to strengthen the cultural identity and understanding for the younger generations. Traditional aboriginal custodians of knowledge are escorted to important sites in their homelands to share the songs, stories, and ceremonies associated with these sites with younger members of the communities. These visits are recorded on film and audio to create educational tools for use in the communities, and where appropriate, versions will be made suitable for use in the wider Australian community.

Indonesia—Biocultural Conservation Sponsorship
2007

The Tado Community Research and Education Center is the first, and only, indigenous biocultural diversity conservation center in Indonesia managed entirely by local farmers. The center is located in the heart of Tado ancestral territory, 30 km of mixed agricultural lands, agroforests, and dryland forests in southwestern Flores. The Tado Community is composed of some 3000 people (670 households) living in twelve traditional settlements, administratively divided into two villages: Nampar Macing and Golo Leleng. The Tado are ethnically and linguistically identified as Kempo Manggarai, one of thirty dialects spoken in the Manggarai region of Flores Island. This project supports the development and distribution of a series of trilingual (Bahasa Indonesia, Kempo Manggari, and English) educational booklets for Tado school children and Tado households as a means to actively conserve Tado culture and life-ways. This increases and popularizes young children’s knowledge of their traditional culture (current school curricula is exclusively based on national government texts with no connections to local ecological or cultural systems) and reinforces the traditional use of plant-based medicines (a practice that has been rapidly decreasing due to substitution, and often incorrect use, of manufactured pharmaceuticals). It revives community use of traditional recipes and wild-harvested foods (a critical means of increasing dietary variation and heightening household nutrition).

One Heart, Many Rhythms is a non-profit organization that works in partnership with first peoples of the world to conserve and express the traditions of their culture. We believe all peoples of the world and their way of life are precious and worthy of preserving, and that all ways of knowing add value to our well-being. ©2004-2007 One Heart Many Rhythms