SIET: Strengthening

Language & Culture

[L]anguageisnotjustabodyofvocabularyorasetof
grammaticalrules,itsaflashofthehumanspirit.Itsa
vehicleforwhichthesoulofaculturecomesthroughtothe
materialworld.Everylanguageinsomesenseisan
ecosystemofideas,awatershedofthought,anoldgrowth
forestofthemind.
WadeDavis,AnthropologistEthnobotanist

Thechallenge:Everytwoweeks,anindigenouslanguage
disappears.Tseltalisconsideredathreatenedlanguage
and,likeoverhalfthelanguagesintheworld,isatriskof
extinctioninonegeneration.

Protectingtraditionalknowledgeandcreatingspacesto
generatenew,culturallyrelevanteducationalmaterialsand
strategiesisvitalforcommunitydevelopment.By
increasingaccesstoinformationdeliveredinthe
Tseltallanguage,communitymembers,especially
indigenouswomen,receiveeducationand
opportunitiestoparticipatemorefullyindevelopment
initiativesandlocaleconomies.Thismeansdevelopment
ismorerapid,inclusiveandsustainable.

Ourresponse:TheSIETProgramisacollaborativeproject
withProfessorRicardoGomezandgraduatestudentsofthe
UniversityofWashingtonsInformationSchoolandour
partnersinChiapas.

TheSIETProgramstrengthenslanguage,cultureand
knowledgeinthreeways:

(1)byorganizingandincreasingaccesstoinformation
throughtheHouseofTseltalWisdom(library);

(2)sharingthatinformationwiththewidestpossible
audienceofTseltalspeakersthroughthecommunityradio
station'seducationalprogramming;and

(3)bydevelopingwaysthatTseltalleadersandfieldstaff
canmeasuretheimpactofthisinformationonthe
developmentofcommunities.
BecausemostTseltalwomenonlyhavearudimentary
commandofSpanish,theyhavelimitedaccessto
information.TheIndigenouslanguagelibrary,radiostation
andeducationalprogramsworktogethersothatTseltal
speakerscanbeinformedandactiveparticipantsintheir
communities,ensuringthatdevelopmenteffortsaremore
inclusiveandmoreproductive.

Howyoucanmakeadifference:

1.Yourgiftincreasesaccessibilitytothegrowing
collectionofeducationalandreferencematerialsinthe
Tseltallanguage.Equippedwithcomputers,a
culturallybasedcatalogsystemforthecollection,anda
Tseltalspeakinglibrarytechnician,thelibrarywillprovidea
spaceforcommunitymemberstodohomework,conduct
research,orworkondevelopmentprojects.

2.YourgiftcreatesaplatformforTseltalcommunity
memberstoshareknowledgeandexperiencesrelevantto
thecommunitythroughthecommunityradiostation.The
stationstaffworkswithagrowinggroupofradialistas,
communityvolunteerswhoworktoidentifytopicsfor
discussion,reportlocalnews,andengagetheircommunities
aroundradioprogrammingtopromotelocaldevelopmentand
socialchange.

3.Yourgiftdevelopsauniquewayforcommunityleaders
toassesstheimpactoftrainingandeducationprogramson
thedevelopmentoftheircommunitiesthroughtheCommunity
WellnessToolkit.Throughworkshopsandfieldtrialsin
Chiapas,indigenousleadersareshapingboththe
developmentindicatorsandtechniquestomeasureimpact
andevaluatethesuccessoftheirprojectsintheir
communities.Techniquesincludephotohistoriesandfocus
groupsthatfacilitatetheinvolvementofyouthandelders,
womenandmen,andpeopleofvaryingdegreesofliteracy.

Whyyourdonationmatters:YourgifttotheSIETProgramhelpsindigenous
communitiesbuildnewpathwaystosustainabledevelopment.Byaccessing
educationalresourcesintheirnativelanguagethroughSIET'sintegratedinformation
system,Tseltalcommunitiesstrengthenandpreservetheirlanguage,cultureand
traditionalknowledge.

TheSIETteamisworkingtodevelopaculturallyrelevantclassificationsystemto
organizetheworld'slargestcollectionofeducationalmaterialsintheTseltal
languagethatwillbehousedintheHouseofWisdom(communitylibrary).TheSIET
teamisprovidingtrainingfortheTseltallibrarytechnicianandtheradiostationstaff
toincreasethereachandimpactofcommunityeducationprograms.Thecommunity
radiostationcurrentlybroadcastseducationalandculturalprogrammingsevendays
aweek,allintheTseltallanguage,reachingover30,000peopleintheregion.The
SIETteamisalsodevelopingaculturallyappropriateimpactassessment
methodologytounderstandtheimpactofeducationalinformationonindigenous
communities.OurlongtermgoalistogeneratenewworksintheTseltallanguage:
books,radioprograms,games,andvariousartisticexpressions.

"Tseltalcommunityradioisimportantbecauseitopensnewspacesforparticipation.
Wecreateaspacewherenooneknowsmorethantheother,wherewecanshare
knowledgeandexperiencetohelpourcommunitiesdeveloptheirway."

AmaliaHernndez,AchLequilcopCommunityRadio