Kuna Yala

I just returned from a 6-day trip to Ukupseni, an indigenous island on the Atlantic coast of Panama, home to the Kuna people. 2,300 people live on this island that is part of the Kuna Comarca, created in 1953 as an autonomous territory from the Panamanian government. We boarded the plane in Panama City and landed 40 minutes later on the mainland. A bridge connects the airport to the village on the island, and the rest of travel is done by boat.

As soon as we arrived, we were sent to do some fieldwork in the coral reef, mangroves, and sea grass beds of a nearby island. Our professors had set up a permanent plot and have been taking measurements over the past 2 years, sampling flora and fauna diversity and structure in each habitat. Most importantly, we measured the cover of different coral species and microalgae. The more microalgae, the less healthy the coral reef. Recently there has been an increasing threat of coral reef mining, illegal in Panama, done to extend the island and create walls. They are witnessing the direct consequences of this as coral reefs create natural barriers by breaking the waves arriving from the open ocean and protecting the island from erosion and storms. Overfishing is also threat to the marine ecosystem and to Kuna livelihood, given that fishing is an important means of subsistence.

Each student was assigned a host family. I stayed with Felipa and her 25-year old daughter Nelda. I strung my hammock and slept right between the two of them for the stay. Sleeping in a hammock was hard to get used to the first night, but I am now quite a fan! Though I stayed in one room with both Felipa and Nelda, the rest of their family (grandmother, sisters, cousins) all lived nextdoor. Felipa’s sister made and sold bread in the community which was quite an amazing smell to wake up to every morning.

The Kuna people are apparently the second shortest indigenous group after the Pygmy of central Africa, as you can clearly see in my family photo !

My family !

Hanging out in the computer center

Our professor has been working in this community and bringing students here for the past 15+ years. It was great to be able to learn from her experience and to be welcomed in the village as students that had much to give but also much to learn. We were welcomed by the Sayla (spiritual leader) upon our arrival. Only one person was allowed to take photos (Caroline) and we were not allowed to buy anything from anyone in the village.

For the next three days, we had workshops organized by Dobbo Yala, an NGO created and run by the community to work on indigenous development and natural resource conservation in the area. Topics included the history and culture of the Kuna, the political situation of indigenous people in Panama, ecology and conservation projects in the region...



The wonderful outhouse



Plantains for lunch !

 Ah and one other thing worth mentioning: on Sunday, we were told that a famous singer was making his way to the island by helicopter from Panama City. Of course, we all became quite excited and found out later in the day that it was in fact Bono and the rest of the U2 crew and their families that were staying at a nearby island for tourists. One of our professors was asked to give him a tour of the village. I was with my host family when one of their relatives came running by and told my host mom, Felipa, to quickly set up her Molas (woven fabric used for their traditional clothing but that can also be hung up for decoration) in order to have them ready when the tourists came by. I helped her set them up and soon enough Bono walked by and introduced himself to me, and began asking about my experience in Panama. He was interested in buying some of the handicrafts so I acted as his translator and he ended up buying 80$ worth of molas from Felipa, who was more than thrilled. That was quite the random experience; a few of us were able to snap a photo with him later in the day!



Molas



 

Though this was not my first time in an indigenous village but definitely my most extensive stay.  I had a wonderful time and learned a lot during my time there.

I am off tomorrow to go back to Pedasi to work on my internship and then to Las Tablas and Playa Venao for Carnaval. I will be back in Panama city on February 27th for the start of our next class, so the next post may not be for a while !