The blossoming of life - Traditional practices, knowledge relay and preservation of Guarani Mbyá memory

Teko Jerá Project – The blossoming of life - Traditional practices, knowledge relay and preservation of Guarani Mbyá memory, funded by the German Federal Foreign Office’s International Relief Fund and the Goethe Institut, is a continuation of the Project for Strengthening and Spreading Traditional Rio Silveira Village Mbyá-Guarani Knowledge and Practices During Pandemic Times, rolled out in 2020.

This project is a continuation of cultural empowerment activities at Rio Silveira Village, in a bid to strengthen and protect the memory, identity and cultural heritage of the Guarani Mbya and to promote the circulation and relay of their knowledge. The project also strives to build dialogue with Guarani Mbya leaders and representatives and other peoples regarding the audiovisual material digitized in 2020 and experiences in management of community museums, archives and memory. 

On the one hand, the project covers agricultural practices, native plant and medicinal herb cultivation, and Guarani health care and principles for good living (teko porã), through activation of the Arandu Porã Culture Spot plant nursery and the growing of small crops and orchards at Rio Silveira Village.

On the other hand, through cataloguing of the material digitized in 2020 and the storage and sorting of data and information, the project sets out to enhance dialogue and reflection alongside representatives of Guarani Mbya communities regarding the creation and management of this and other archives concerning their own history and culture. 

Through actions coordinated by the Mbya Arandu Porã Culture Spot and involving Rio Silveira Village residents as well as representatives from other communities, the project also strives to build dialogue on cultural heritage, the relay of knowledge, memory and history, preservation of historical documents, collective archive management processes, cultural production, social museology, and other subjects that may encourage communities to consider their origins, traditions and memory, and to seek solutions for the challenges facing them today. 

The project is ongoing with completion due February 2022.