Wounaan and Emberá use and management of the fiber palm Astrocaryum standleyanum (Arecaceae) for basketry in eastern Panamá

spa: Este estudio examina el uso de la palma Astrocaryum Standleyanum (Arecaceae) para cestería por artesanos Wounaan y Emberá en Panamá. (Las) fibras de la palma son una fuente tradicional de materia para canastas, las cuales ha llegado a ser objetos e arte comercial en los últimos quince años. Se recolectaron datos sobre el uso de la palma durante años, en su mayoría en la provincia de Darién. (Los) resultados indican que la palma se cosecha destructivamente, normalmente solo para una única hoja bandera. Artesanas remueven las fibras de las pinas y las tiñen con plantas. Se cosen hilos de Astrocaryum Standleyanum en vueltas alrededor una función de Carludovica palmata para hacer canastas enrolladas. Tejedoras Wounaanes son reconocidas como las mejores artesanas, tal vez por sus tradiciones culturales o su larga historia con vendedoras de arte. La venta de estas canastas es una fuente importante de ingresos de efectivo, con venas domésticas e internacionales. La cosecha destructiva de palmas amenaza la industria y se han propuesto sugerencias para la cosecha sostenible.eng: This study examines the use of Astrocaryum standleyanum for basketry by Wounaan and Emberá artisans in Panama. Fibers from the palm are a traditional source of material for baskets, which have become commercial art items within the last fifteen years. Data were collected on palm use over the years, mostly in the province of Darien. Results indicate that the palm is harvested destructively, usually only for a single flag leaf. Artisans remove the fibers from the pinas and dye them with plants. Threads of Astrocaryum standleyanum are sewn in twists around a Carludovica palmata function to make rolled baskets. Wounaan weavers are recognized as the best artisans, perhaps because of their cultural traditions or their long history with art vendors. The sale of these baskets is an important source of cash income, with domestic and international veins. Destructive harvesting of flames threatens the industry and suggestions for sustainable harvesting have been proposed

Wounaan Storying as Intervention: Storywork in the Crafting of a Multimodal Illustrated Story Book on People and Birds

A growing body of scholarship addresses what Indigenous peoples have always known: stories are critically important to who we are and how to be in the world. For Wounaan, an Indigenous people of Panama and Colombia, ancestors’ stories are no longer frequently told. As part of the Wounaan Podpa Nʌm Pömaam (National Wounaan Congress) and Foundation for the Development of Wounaan People’s project on bird guiding, birds and culture, and forest restoration in Panama, we leveraged the publication requirement as political intervention and anticolonial practice in storying worlds. This article is the story of our storying, the telling and crafting of an illustrated story book that honors Wounaan convivial lifeworlds, Wounaan chaain döhigaau nemchaain hoo wënʌʌrrajim/Los niños wounaan, en sus aventuras vieron muchas aves/The Adventures of Wounaan Children and Many Birds. Here, we have used video conference minutes and recordings, voice and text messages, emails, recollections, and a conference co-presentation to show stories as Indigenous method and reality, as epistemological and ontological. We use a narrative form to weave together our collaborative process and polish the many storying decisions on relationality, time, egalitarianism, movement, rivers, embodiment, and verbal poetics through an everyday adventure of siblings and birds. Available as a multimodal illustrated story book in digital audio and print, we conclude by advocating for new media to further storying Indigenous lifeworlds

Wounaan Storying as Intervention: Storywork in the Crafting of a Multimodal Illustrated Story Book on People and Birds

A growing body of scholarship addresses what Indigenous peoples have always known: stories are critically important to who we are and how to be in the world. For Wounaan, an Indigenous people of Panama and Colombia, ancestors’ stories are no longer frequently told. As part of the Wounaan Podpa Nʌm Pömaam (National Wounaan Congress) and Foundation for the Development of Wounaan People’s project on bird guiding, birds and culture, and forest restoration in Panama, we leveraged the publication requirement as political intervention and anticolonial practice in storying worlds. This article is the story of our storying, the telling and crafting of an illustrated story book that honors Wounaan convivial lifeworlds, Wounaan chaain döhigaau nemchaain hoo wënʌʌrrajim/Los niños wounaan, en sus aventuras vieron muchas aves/The Adventures of Wounaan Children and Many Birds. Here, we have used video conference minutes and recordings, voice and text messages, emails, recollections, and a conference co-presentation to show stories as Indigenous method and reality, as epistemological and ontological. We use a narrative form to weave together our collaborative process and polish the many storying decisions on relationality, time, egalitarianism, movement, rivers, embodiment, and verbal poetics through an everyday adventure of siblings and birds. Available as a multimodal illustrated story book in digital audio and print, we conclude by advocating for new media to further storying Indigenous lifeworlds

How Is the World Shaped by Infrastructure Projects That Have Been Cancelled or Stalled?

This report summarizes the findings of the Unimplemented Development Synthesis Workshop held at the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC) in Annapolis, Maryland from January 21–23, 2020.This report is the result of an interdisciplinary, international effort to examine the socio-environmental consequences of large-scale infrastructure projects that have been planned but not built—and reasons why projects have been cancelled or stalled. Collectively, our team examined eight cases of cancelled or stalled infrastructure projects in the Americas, drawing from our experiences in academic research and professional practice. Across cases, we found that projects were cancelled or stalled for interrelated reasons including environmental impact assessments, litigation and legislation, strong opposition and media attention, and/or increasing costs and faltering justifications. Our work further shows that cancelled or stalled development projects can create socio-environmental consequences that persist and cascade over time. The consequences of unbuilt infrastructure projects include the following: the development of new research networks; the establishment of precedents for socio-environmental assessment; the strengthening of social movements, often against the proposed development; changes in land use and land tenure; the exposure of environmental racism and injustice; and shifted development interventions. In sum, paying attention to cancelled and stalled projects provides a transdisciplinary lens for understanding broader processes of development, knowledge, power, science, and socio-environmental change. We conclude that when proposed large infrastructure projects are assessed, additional attention needs to be given to how they may shape landscapes and societies even if they are never built.This work was supported by the National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC), under funding received from the National Science Foundation, Grant # DBI-1639145