Guarani in Rio de Janeiro
CDI Europe would like to share some great field experience with you. On our first newsletter we have published a story about the Guarani indigenous community in Brazil on how this tribe is using technology as a tool to perpetuate its traditions. It was a breath taking experience for all of us from CDI.
‘Ayvu Ryru’ is what the Guarani indigenous community in Rio de Janeiro named their computers. The meaning – box to keep the language – tells a lot about the Guarani culture which is essentially oral. CDI delivered technology, audio-visual tools and training to the Guarani enabling them to rescue this centuries old heritage and preserve it for future generations and all mankind.
Today the Guarani have learned to use their computers and audiovisual tools, to register and to reproduce their culture for future generations and preserve it.
The room where the computers are kept in the heart of the tribe is carefully guarded by Leandro Mendes, who is being trained by CDI to be an educator. According to Leandro, technology is very important to the community because it is a way to preserve all their cultural practices. “We have learned how to interview people in a way that they can tell a story or give advice to the youth”, he explains. The enthusiasm of the Guarani for their audiovisual tools has led them to create a channel on YouTube to publish the videos they produce and to exchange material with other Guarani communities from all over South America.
Despite the immeasurable value for them, the computer school is now under threat. Without funding, the space is being kept alive solely through the perseverance of the Guarani. Even though Leandro has no salary, he continues to visit the project every day to care for the machines, to allow other people to access them and to practice what he has been learning with CDI’s team.
