Celebrating 360° Community-Led Change in Peru
In 2024, Legado received funding from Planet Women in support of Futuros Vivos: Megantoni-Machiguenga, our collaboration with the Indigenous and local communities stewarding Megantoni National Sanctuary and Machiguenga Communal Reserve in Peru.
Check out the three-minute clip to the right, shared by Planet Women from their Fall webinar event featuring Legado, to learn more about our 360° Community-Led Change approach. 360° Community-Led Change looks at development and conservation priorities in a holistic, intersectional way—with gender equity as a key element of our process.
Laying the Groundwork for Enduring Change
With support from Planet Women and in partnership with local and regional organizations, Legado began the Thriving Futures process in the village of Saniriato in 2024. During this time, we helped activate community members into new leadership roles and train representatives from the Megantoni National Sanctuary and Machiguenga Communal Reserve teams.
As Abraham Patiño Huamán, the President of the Governing Board of Saniriato, stated towards the start of the Thriving Futures process: “We all know our pasts and present but now we are learning about what we each want for our future.”
By taking an inclusive approach and centering those with traditionally underrepresented voices, such as women and youth, Legado is supporting the entire community to design and implement solutions of their choosing.
In Spring 2024, Flor Zuniga Tipe, a young woman born in the Matsigenka Indigenous community of Monte Carmelo, stepped into the Community Coordinator role of Legado’s Peru team. She has worked alongside the Saniriato community as they plan for their Intercultural Community Legacy Plan, with an eye on her personal goals when she returns to her own community:
“During my time working with the Futuros Vivos initiative, I have been in my element. I am learning a lot from the entire team, especially growing in confidence and in overcoming challenges. All of this is helping me to grow as a person and feel more empowered to be able to achieve my goals and help my community in the future as a new community leader.” - Flor Zuniga Tipe
Flor (left) interviews Guillermina Mamani de Aquino (center) in Saniriato, Peru, alongside a partner from SERNANP | H. Michell Leon
Flor and the rest of the Futuros Vivos team have dedicated themselves to relationship-building at a village-to-village level in the Megantoni-Machiguenga landscape.
Underpinning the achievements with the Saniriato community has also been the activation of local working groups that are responsible for recognizing and formalizing the creation, implementation, and integration of Intercultural Community Legacy Plans in local and regional planning. Beginning in 2025, Legado will complete and celebrate the plan with Saniriato community members, and start implementation.
Marina Usca, an active resident of Saniriato, was also motivated to participate in the Thriving Futures process and share her vision and role towards shaping the future:
“I really like to participate and be part of the different organizations in Saniriato. I was president of the board and currently am the treasurer of the Housing Association, because I feel that through these spaces, I learn a lot and I can do a lot for others and for Saniriato. I am involved in the education of my children, that is why I actively participate in the Parents Association, where I am also treasurer. Children are fundamental for our development as a people and its welfare in the future.” - Marina Usca Corrales
When women lead, they lead the way to improve children’s health, climate resilience, and cultural preservation. That is exactly what Marina and so many other women in Saniriato are ready to take on.
Together with our partners, we are dedicated to ensuring that Indigenous and local communities, including women and youth, lead the efforts to protect their well-being and vision for the future.