Programs / Environmental / Communities / PiriatÃ EmberÃ¡ «

About Piriatí Emberá

Piriati Emberá is an indigenous Emberá community of about 165 homes

and 780 inhabitants. It is located in the district of Tortí along the Pan

American highway in East Panama province. Piriati Emberá is a farming

and artisan community. Families produce crops like rice, plantains, yucca,

and corn for their own consumption as well as to sell to intermediaries.

Many women and some men sell traditional artisan crafts as well. As one

of Global Brigades Panama’s holistic communities, medical/dental brigades

conduct mobile clinics, business brigades is working to create a community

bank, and Environmental brigades have built a greenhouse structure and

are working to complete a reforestation project, while continuing to support

sustainable farming practices through work with the model farm.

Piriatí Emberá's Environmental Challenge

The majority of community members depend on the land for their livelihoods

including income, daily subsistence, traditional art crafts, and construction of

traditional Emberá family dwellings. The environment is currently threatened

by both external forces in the region at large and internal unsustainable

cultural norms that result from lack of education. All of Panama, and in

recent decades Eastern Panama in particular, has been threatened by rapid

deforestation and soil erosion due to cattle ranching, logging, and

colonization of highly forested areas. Large tracts of land at extremely low prices
has favored rapid, unsustainable expansion and attracted teak tree farms and cattle ranches, both of which devastate native species. On a micro level, the Emberá communities of East Panama practice slash and burn agriculture, a method that depletes nutrients every crop cycle and over time will lead to completely infertile land. These practices combined with monoculture style and limited crop varieties in the area threaten these communities most precious resource—their land. In addition, there is no existing system of waste management in the community. Most families will burn their trash or throw it in the river, for lack of options and awareness of the harmful effects of these practices.

The Environmental Solution for Piriatí Emberá

Environmental Action

Environmental Brigades’ has developed a project to promote sustainable agricultural techniques through the creation of Model Farms that have the end goal of families replicating this model for themselves on their own land. The Environmental Team works with the Environmental Committee in Piriatí Emberá, which is made of 15 women and 2 men, to perpetuate the Model Farm project.

The Model Farm consists of different sections within the small plot: crops and livestock. Some examples of crops include: corn, rice, beans, plantains, and yuca. Examples of livestock include: chickens, tilapia, and iguanas. Starting in 2015, volunteers participating in Environmental Brigades help construct, plant, maintain, perform follow-up, harvest, and educate community members about the techniques and projects within the Model Farm.

Unsustainable farming techniques degrade the health of the soil. When the soil becomes contaminated, whether through harmful farming practices or improper waste management, the well-being of those who depend on the soil is at risk. Global Brigades’ focus on fighting the degradation of soil promotes environmental sustainability, which affects food security and financial sustainability of the communities we work with.

Environmental Education

In addition to the hands on projects, an important part of Environmental Brigades work in Piriati Embera is the education workshops given by brigaders with the support of the Environmental team. Past workshop topics include organic fertilizers, composts, pest and disease control, plant health, greenhouse maintenance, and waste management and the ecological effects of improper waste disposal. Future brigaders will reinforce these topics with the schoolchildren, as most of the adults have received environmental education.

Environmental Brigades Chapters that Worked in Piriatí Emberá
Environmental Brigades Chapter	Month	Volunteers	Model Farm Components
Marquette University	March 2013	24	-
Penn State University	May 2013	19	-
Chapman University	June 2013	14	-
UCLA, UCI, UCSD, UCSB	June 2013	28	-
UC Riverside and Drexel University	August 2013	15	-
Ball State University	December 2013	15	-
Penn State University and University of Virginia	March 2014	18	-
Indiana University	March 2014	12	-
DePaul University and Northwestern University	March 2014	22	-
University of Pittsburgh and Boston University	May 2014	27	-
UIUC and University of Connecticut	May 2014	8	-
CUNY Macaulay	August 2014	30	-
University of New Hampshire & Columbia University	January 2015	16	Rice Paddy (construction), Chicken Coop (construction)
Penn State University & CU Boulder	May 2015	16	Eliminate weeds, Plaintains (planting), Corn (planting), Cassava (planting), Drainage ditch (construction)

Visit Other Programs in Piriatí Emberá

Global Brigades strives to implement a model of Holistic Development in communities through a system of collectively implementing health, economic, and education initiatives to strategically meet a community's development goals. Learn more about the other programs being implemented in Piriatí Emberá:

Business Dental Human Rights Medical Microfinance Public Health