The first Indigenous-led fund for the Brazilian Amazon
In the language of the Baniwa people, Podáali is synonymous with celebration, reciprocity, and the promotion of sustainability.
Developed alongside the Brazilian Indigenous organization COIAB (Coordination of the Indigenous Organizations of the Brazilian Amazon), which represents 160 different Indigenous groups, the Podáali Fund facilitates access to resources for Indigenous peoples, their communities, and organizations based in the Amazon. It’s also the first Indigenous-led fund for the Brazilian Amazon region.
Research shows that less than 1% of philanthropic giving from the top-10 U.S. foundations reaches Indigenous communities.
The Podáali Fund aims to strengthen the self-determination, protagonism, cultures, and lifestyles of Indigenous peoples. These resources enable Indigenous peoples and communities to protect their territories, maintain sustainable models of production of natural resources, preserve their traditional knowledge, and strengthen their self-determination and political impact.
“Podáali fund, such as other community funds, provides a bridge between traditional knowledge and new technologies to optimize the agroforestry systems used by Indigenous Peoples which not only allow them to preserve the forest, but also to create resources for their communities and to restore the land degraded by large monoculture and livestock production.”
— Valéria Paye, the Executive Director of the Podáali Fund
Direct Investments in Indigenous Communities
By channeling donor support to the Podáali Fund, Indigenous peoples, who are driving local solutions to build resiliency from the ground up, can access resources to manage and protect forests and natural resources.
Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies’ grantee partner, The Nature Conservancy, provided support to the COIAB in building the Podáali Fund. Our Environment funding seeks to support community-based solutions, like these, that help address ecosystem degradation and improve human well-being at scale.
New, direct financing mechanisms such as Podaáli, created by, led by, and in service of Indigenous peoples, offer important means for their communities to directly access climate and biodiversity funding to support the role of Indigenous peoples in protecting and sustainably managing territories and ensuring their collective well-being.
This transformative model forges a new, equitable path to long-term protection of Indigenous forests and lands as well as the climate services they provide.
