Minga Perú

Thanks to your support, Minga celebrates in its 25 years the implementation of 500 projects for youth entrepreneurs, providing ways for teens to earn income to feed their families, invest in their own businesses, and pay to further their education. If you want to see these programs in action and in person, be part of a Minga Tour visit to the rainforest. #MakeaDifference #MingaPeru #peruvianamazon

Thanks to your support and the incredible work of the amazonian communities, Minga wants to celebrate -More than 200 artisan women trained in product quality and sales increasing their monthly income leading to their access to health services and money for transportation in emergencies. -More than 1000 youth trained in entrepreneurship and self-care modeling new behaviors for girls and boys in schools leading to change in public discourse. -Almost 1000 students from 28 primary schools are participating in intercultural education leading to the revitalization of the Kukama language and culture. Click the link in our bio to read about the wide impact our programs have, and how you can get involved. #nonprofit #youthentrepreneurship #MingaPeru

25 years ago, we began working within remote Amazonian communities to promote social and environmental justice. We've been amazed at the legacy of empowerment, equitability, and climate resilience and adaptation our community leaders have built for their children—and now their grandchildren. Join us in celebrating this milestone and help us continue their legacy by donating or sponsoring one of our programs, such as, Jovenes Semillas, which has resulted in #youngentrepreneurs leading the efforts in the reforestation of over 100,000 timber, fruit and palm trees. #ngo #reforestation #MingaPeru

We're booking for 2025 and 2026! 🌿 Minga Tour is a week-long opportunity for groups of 12-25 people to participate firsthand in social change and climate resilience in the Peruvian #Amazon. 💚Our program creates a space for a mutually beneficial and respectful experience between travelers and the #Indigenous communities with whom we work. This is an incredible opportunity for universities, high schools, religious groups, and anyone who wants to visit remote Amazon communities while supporting Minga's work in the areas of #climateresilience, women's and youth empowerment, and more. ✅ We offer a limited number of trips annually, so contact us today to reserve your spot! Click the link in our bio or send us a DM. 😍 “Having led more than two dozen education abroad programs across five continents, I am happy to give the Minga Tour my strongest recommendation…The personal and professional transformation it inspires compares to nothing else.” —Dr. Brad Klein, Associate Director of the Human Rights Program at SMU 🙏"My biggest takeaway was the exchange of culture, of language, of emotions, of feelings, of thoughts and ideas. [That] was very very present, not just within our group but between our group and the communities. They welcomed us with open arms, open hearts...It truly is not like other trips." —Maria Izguierre, SMU graduate student #Minga #ecotourism #VisitPeru

In the region of Loreto where Minga works, the most common indigenous culture is Kukama-Kukamiria. The Kukama are known for being the best fishermen in the rainforest, for their beautiful handicrafts, for a strong connection to the river, and for a strong sense of community and hospitality. 🐠 "My community is Kukama... We paint ourselves because it has meaning. For example, if we make 3 stripes here on our face, in the Kukama culture it means that we have 3 lives, which is water, earth and sky. That is, on land where we live...we have a second life living under water, and when we die our spirit goes to heaven. That's why it is said that we have 3 lives." ~Musolin, 22 years old from the community Puerto Prado All of Minga's programming, from our youth leadership programs to our radio shows, emphasize and promote #indigenous cultural identity. When you support Minga, you support this important work. 💪 Click the links in our bio to donate and learn more. 💚 #Minga #Peru #NGO

"The river for us is life. If that didn't exist we wouldn't have life. You will not find Kukama living at a high altitude… it is life because we live off the river, in it there is our food, our businesses, our life." ~ Pascual Aquituari Fachin, professor of #Kukama language & culture "Wherever I go I say that I am Kukama because I have to be proud of my language. For example, this happened to me when I was at school: ‘You are an Indian, you are Kukama,’ but I have never felt less than them, I am always proud to say that I am Kukama.” ~ Musolin, 22 years old, from a Kukama community in the Loreto region of #Peru Your support of Minga helps us promote indigenous cultural identity in #Amazon. Read more about the Kukama culture, and how Minga's work promotes that identity, at the link in our bio 💚 Thank you for supporting this important work 🙏 #indigenousculture #Minga

When women step into their power, a ripple effect begins to echo outward within social circles (to friends, neighbors, regions) and into the future (to children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren). These changes cannot be underestimated. During our early workshops, many of these women told us "This is my only chance. This is the inheritance I will leave to my children." Soon, their roles in the communities began to change. They began to take on leadership roles. They began to report massive changes, such as: ✅1,200 women are now leaders in communities where the right to participate in group decisions or hold public office was not recognized ✅Greater equity and economic opportunities for women and girls ✅Less violence, lower rate of teenage pregnancy and HIV/AIDS, and early breast and uterine cancer detection ✅Greater awareness and prevention of human trafficking ✅Less pressure on the rainforest and increased resilience in the face of climate change Keep reading at the link in our bio #PowerofWomen #Peru #AmazonRainforest💚

After we aired our first radio shows in the #PeruvianAmazon 25 years ago, we began receiving letters...45,000 letters, to date. 📨 Those letters became the guidelines for the radio programs that followed. And they prompted us to take the next step: to offer trainings for #indigenouswomen. 📚 We invited women to come to workshops, where they learned about health, leadership, self-esteem, economic development, and other opportunities. Dozens, then hundreds, of women began coming to Tambo Minga. Many became promotoras, completing 3 years of cumulative training, and passing on what they learned to their communities. 👩‍🏫 It wasn't always easy. Many were mocked and called names for coming to el Tambo for training, accused of abandoning their families, harassed for doing something new and different. 🙏 But they kept coming back. 💪 Read more at /es/it-all-started-with-women/ #Minga #Peru

Why did we start with women, when we started working to promote social change in the #PeruvianAmazon? Because their rights were less recognized than men’s. Because they were the most likely to suffer from lack of resources, domestic violence, early pregnancy, sickness, abuse, and HIV/AIDS. 🩺 Because women were more often the guardians of their cultures, those who passed it onto their children. It is women who understand the power of community and maintain their deep connection with the rainforest. 🌿 And because they were ready. 💪 They were ready to give it all—time, knowledge, talent, work—to make the changes they needed. 🙏 Keep reading at the link in our bio 💚 #Minga #Peru

In 1998, we started broadcasting a radio show, because that was the only way to communicate en masse with women in rural communities. Since the beginning, Minga’s intention was not to impose an agenda, but rather to find out what women wanted for themselves and their families. We invited them to write to us, and we coordinated with boats to pick up and deliver their letters. Right away, the letters starting coming–mostly written by women, many of them mothers. 📨 They told us their fears, their concerns, and their hopes. They wanted more opportunities. To learn new things. To break the cycle of violence. To live happily in peace. To raise children with a better future than they themselves had. 👨‍👩‍👧 For many women, it was their first time writing a letter, and their first time speaking about these things. ✏️ ​ Reading those letters, it confirmed our belief: if we were going to contribute to making real, sustainable change in these communities, we had to start with women. 💪 Keep reading at the first link in our bio 💚 #PeruAmazon #Minga #SupportIndigenousWomen

One of the highlights from last week's Minga Tour was helping build a fish farm! 💪 First, we had lunch with some young folks from #Minga's Jovenes Emprendedores (Young Entrepreneurs) program, which provides young people with training and resources to operate their own businesses. These incredible teens told us about their projects, such as piscigranjas (fish farms) and vegetable gardens, which allow them to earn money for school supplies while learning important business and investing practices, as well as important principles of leadership and self-esteem. 📈 These projects also serve to promote #biodiversity in the rainforest and supply their families with consistent food sources, which is increasingly important, they tell us, as the effects of #climatechange grow more drastic. 🌱 One of the Young Entrepreneurs had already selected the site of his fish farm, so we spent some time digging and fortifying the dam he'd started. It was hard work! ⛏ May is rainy season, so we couldn't be too surprised when it started to pour after about an hour. Still, we made some good progress. 🌧 "Minga" means "collaborative work toward a collective good," and the students from @smuhrp absolutely embodied that principle. Thank you for your hard work, and we hope you'll come back soon to see the finished fish farm! 🐠 If you're feeling inspired and want to find out more about Minga Tour -- that is, how YOU can come experience social change in the #PeruvianAmazon -- send us a DM or email us as at [email protected] 📧 La selva te espera (the rainforest is waiting for you) 🌏

Today is Peruvian Indigenous Language Day! In the region of Loreto where #Minga works, the most common indigenous culture is Kukama-Kukamiria. Many of the grandparents in the community to speak #Kukama, but most adults and children speak mainly in Spanish. In order to revitalize the Kukama identity, Minga supports #bilingualeducation from native speakers, including: 🎤Broadcasting radio programs in Kukama and 6 other #indigenous languages 🌴Minga has offered outdoor classes in Spanish and in Kukama-Kukamiria to primary school children in the rainforest 📕Projects like this one: a children’s book, written by children! Each child wrote a short story in Spanish, and Minga’s professor of Kukama language and culture, Pascual Aquituari Fachin, translated them into Kukama. Now the children have a beautiful book with their own stories, in their own words, in two languages. Fun fact: “Wayuri” means Minga in Kukama! Minga is a Quechua word meaning “collaborative work,” which is at the heart of everything we do. All of our programs are led by the indigenous communities where we work, based on their direction. To support this work, click the link in our bio. Your support truly makes a difference. 🫶 #Minga #Peru