Research & Data Collection

Wájaro is collaborating with international and Colombian organizations to gather, organize and make public, accurate, relevant and timely data about Colombia’s indigenous population. More specifically, for as many indigenous groups as possible, Wájaro is working to gather information pertaining to:

1) General tribal demographics.

2) External pressures affecting the community.

3) Religious and spiritual composition.

Continue on to read more about each focus…

Through research and data collection, the Wájaro Foundation is working to broaden and deepen the bank of information regarding Colombia’s indigenous population.

The following points explain Wájaro’s research and data collection focuses:
null
General tribal demographics.

  • Basic characteristics – name (how they identify themselves), current location, population, root language.
  • History – original settlement, development of community, key actors, the social struggle, issues of resources and discrimination, key dates in history.
  • Geography – nature of the terrain, climate, frequency of natural disasters.
  • Politics – political structure governing the community, with who power resides in the community, who makes the decisions, broader political participation, community members’ feelings towards armed forces.
  • Economics – main economic activities, types of work, portion of the population in each type of work, economic power, levels of poverty, who owns the means of production, land ownership, access to land.
  • Social – social status and roles of groups and individuals (based on age, wealth, gender, etc.), family composition (single parent, extended family, migration).
  • Health – life expectancy, infant and maternal mortality, common illnesses, percentage of people who go to primary and secondary school (girls and boys).
  • Cultural – tribal divisions derived from ethnicities, nature of how they relate, currently and historically.
  • Basic services and infrastructure– access to basic services and their quality such as health, water, education, electricity, water, roads, housing.
  • Humanitarian organizations in the community – who they are, their work, the community’s acceptance of them.

null
External pressures affecting the community.

  • Role and presence of armed groups (army, police, guerrilla groups, paramilitary).
  • Presence of multinational companies with particular emphasis on mining and oil operations.
  • Implications of the emergent peace process.

null

Religious and spiritual composition.

  • Traditional spiritual practices and beliefs.
  • Different religions practiced, levels of conflict or co-operation between groups.
  • History and extant state of the protestant and or catholic church (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats facing it).
  • How the protestant and or catholic church interacts with and is affected by the current socio-political environment.
  • How the protestant church relate to and engage with the wider community.
  • Current religious leaders, their contact information, their stories.
  • Organizations and individuals coming from the outside working with the church – who they are, their work, their contact information.