To celebrate International Women’s Month, we spoke with Ingrid Mojanajinsoy, an Indigenous leader from the Colombian Amazon, about the crucial role women play in her community’s efforts to protect this vital ecosystem.
Ingrid is the president of the Association of Indigenous Councils of the Municipality of VillagarzĂłn (ACIMVIP), an organization established to advocate for the rights of Indigenous peoples in the Putumayo region. She is from the Indigenous Inga people, which has safeguarded the Amazon and its water sources for generations.
Ingrid’s community is facing down extractive industries that pollute their water and destroy the ancestral territory to which they are deeply connected. This threat inhibits the Inga’s ability to sustain themselves and practice cultural traditions by depleting the natural resources that they rely on for their food sovereignty, medicine, and spiritual practices.
Yet, Inga women are at the forefront of resistance, confronting extractive industries to protect their cultural heritage. Ingrid shares that women are in charge of the chagra, a sustainable farming system that nurtures the land, keeping it fertile after several harvests. Unlike industrial agricultural practices that deplete the soil, the chagra promotes biodiversity and ensures long-term sustainability by growing various plants that benefit one another. Through this, Inga women cultivate everything from yuca and potatoes to medicinal plants used for their healing practices. With this ancestral knowledge, Inga women ensure the regeneration of their ecosystems and the preservation of their culture.
Women also take on the role of Wuasikamas, monitoring the land and guarding it from illegal invaders. Their leadership takes many forms, from organizing community advocacy meetings to navigating legal battles with the government and multinational corporations threatening their land. They defend the environment by fighting deforestation, illegal mining, and resource exploitation while promoting sustainable practices rooted in Inga traditions.
This International Women’s Month, we honor the Indigenous women who fight every day, not just for their communities but for the future of our planet. Ingrid reminds us of the strength and commitment needed to protect the Amazon for future generations. Women’s leadership is vital in the fight against climate change, and it’s up to us to join them in solidarity.
Amazon Watch has collaborated with Ingrid’s organization ACIMVIP since 2023 through delegations, programmatic accompaniment, and the facilitation of emergency support for both individual and collective protection strategies when Inga leaders and communities have been targets of intimidation and death threats.
Through our Amazon Defenders Fund, we support these courageous women. We urge you to join us in honoring their efforts by sharing their stories, spreading awareness, and contributing to the fight.
