Saving four Amazonian cultures through education

Dear friends:

We hope that 2026 goes well for all of you and that your professional, personal, and family goals are being reached. For us at Formabiap, 2025 was a year of learning and challenges, but also of achieved objectives. We begin 2026 with the same strength and purpose that we had when we started 37 years ago: to contribute to building a relevant and high-quality Intercultural Bilingual Education program, as a significant contribution to the fulfillment of the lives of the indigenous peoples of the Peruvian Amazon.

Firstly, we would like to to provide some context about our work in training teachers in Intercultural Bilingual Education. Every year, between April and October, we conduct the in-person phase of the training in a welcoming and conducive environment for exchange, reflection, and learning, which we call the “Zungarococha Educational Community,” located 19 km from the center of Iquitos. During this period, Indigenous youth receive guidance from their trainers, enabling them to develop knowledge, acquire pedagogical tools and methodologies, deepen their understanding of the ancestral knowledge of their communities, strengthen their language and cultural knowledge, and, in turn, learn from the knowledge and practices of other cultures, as well as from science and technology, in an environment of constant interaction with nature.

Subsequently, during November and December, the students of Formabiap travel to schools in selected communities to put into practice what they learned during their six months of training. This stage, known as the decentralized or pre-professional internship phase, is carried out with the support, monitoring, and evaluation of the Formabiap teacher trainers. In the 2025 pre-professional internships, young people from the Shawi, Kukama-Kukamiria, Kichwa, and Achuar Indigenous Amazonian communities worked closely with children and adolescents from their home villages in close collaboration with parents and community elders, promoting contextualized education. Through educational projects, they fostered the strengthening of their languages and cultures, the conservation and restoration of biodiversity, the promotion of best practices, access to information, and the exercise of individual and collective rights. Jennifer Oliveira Panduro, from the Kukama-Kukamiria community, who conducted classes for the first time as part of this phase, stated:

“This experience strengthened my identity, allowed me to recognize the value of my culture and the important role I play within my community. In addition, I broadened and consolidated my knowledge, learning not only from theory, but also from practice and direct experience in the classroom with children.” Testimonials like Jennifer's, as well as the support of parents, community and educational authorities, strengthen the foundations of the educational proposal, a proposal of and for the indigenous peoples of the Peruvian Amazon.

Finally, we would like to share that, with great hope, we began our efforts this year, strategically focusing on ensuring suitable conditions for the arrival of the Indigenous youth at the Zúngarococha Educational Community to continue their studies. These efforts include cleaning, repairing, and preparing the housing units, the dining hall, common areas, and basic services; acquiring personal hygiene kits; developing the educational materials that will be used during the six months of in-person training; organizing and acquiring supplies for the intercultural first-aid kit; and, last but not least, planning the logistics for the dining hall from April to October, including organizing suppliers, storing, and ensuring the availability of necessary supplies to guarantee adequate nutrition. We have also maintained the various spaces encompassed by productive projects, such as the fish farm, the integrated gardens, and the stingless bee colonies.

This entire process has been made possible thanks to the invaluable support of each and every one of you. Your commitment enables us to continue developing an educational approach that values and respects the identity, culture, language, forests, biodiversity, and rights of Amazonian Indigenous peoples. Thanks to your commitment, we are ensuring that more Indigenous youth are trained as teachers in Intercultural Bilingual Education and return to their communities as agents of change to strengthen, affirm, make visible, and enrich their culture through education.

Usurpaki, thank you in the Kukama Kukamiria language.