The Visionary Women’s Fund
The Visionary Women’s Fund is an initiative created to fund women’s visions, connected to the preservation, fortification, and celebration of the forest, Indigenous culture and spirituality. . The Visionary Women’s Fund’s goal is to lend the support needed for women’s voices, hopes, and dreams to manifest.
The Visionary Women’s Fund is a subsidiary of Indigenous Celebration, a Florida-based 501(c)3 non profit organization with a mission to preserve the forest and its wisdom, by empowering the world’s Indigenous, through a celebration of culture.
Funds from the Warrior Women Connect program go towards the Visionary Women’s Fund. The first visionary we are supporting is Hushahu Yawanawá, for the Casa de Arte Yawanawá.
Casa de Arte Yawanawá, the “Yawanawá Art House”
a space in the forest for artistic and spiritual immersion, strengthening Yawanawá knowledge and cultural exchange.
HUSHAHU’S VISION
“I am dreaming, I want to build a space where I can be with the women in the forest.
My dream is to build a house that will not only be mine, but that we can receive women and men from my people, and also foreigners, let’s talk, study spirituality, diet, work with art and Yawanawá medicines.
There we will seek an empowerment of our own strength, of our spirit, of ourselves.
Yawanawá women have suffered a lot from the past, and now it´s a new moment, they are strengthening. Our House of Art will bring the strength of visions, of spirituality, amplify the strength of women within the village.
This movement of entering into art and spirituality is beautifying women both in spirit and in mind, steadying and encouraging. This is opening up something like a portal to their forces. So the most beautiful thing is that by bringing this to the women within the village we have been able to strengthen ourselves more in culture, spirituality, in our life. I can not dream a little dream for myself, and not only for the women of my people, but a great dream so that I can dream along with all the women and men, not only of my people, but of several places of the world. So that the people who come from outside can live this also in the forest and we can dream together with a village and a better world for us.”
– Hushahu Yawanawá
Who is Hushahu Yawanawa?
In 2005, at the head of the Gregorio River in Acre, Hushahu Yawanawá, an indigenous woman of 25 years old, decided to break a taboo in her tradition and started, along with her sister, a women’s revolution in their village.
Up to that moment, no woman at the village had spent one year of isolation as a form of shamanic ritual initiation (diet) to access the forest´s spirits knowledge. Seeking directly the teachings of the village’s past elders, Hushahu became a reference in Yawanawá spiritual and artistic knowledge, at a time when her people were undergoing a process of weakening traditional practices. These practices were weakened due to the strong missionary influence in indigenous land and culture.
Upon returning from year long isolation in the forest, she brought great vitality to the culture of her people, encouraging women and men to study spirituality, songs, prayers and the arts. She became a reference for other women from inside and outside her village, taking the work and message to other corners of the world.
The Source of Inspiration
The Yawanawá arts are directly linked to the cosmology of the people and the knowledge of spirituality. During her diet, through contact with the forest spirits, Hushahu relates that she received different kinds of kene yawanawá art and grafismos, and taught the other women of her village. In her immersion she also entered into the study of the making of rauti, ornaments and ritual artifacts, made of feathers, bones, and other materials, bringing back strength and renewal to their tradition.
Before Hushahu, the use of forest medicines and knowledge of the Yawanawá spiritual traditions were restricted to men. Today the study of this knowledge in conjunction with artistic practices were made possible to all people, regardless of gender. As a result of Hushahu´s and other women’s work, the female empowerment movement is growing. Hushahu’s work has become even more relevant to their people after the recent passing of two great shamans, Tatá and Yawarani, elders that lived beyond 100, and holders of deep Yawanawá spiritual knowledge. Hushahu, who was a pupil of Pajé Tatá, is one of the main figures responsible for the maintenance and continuity of the healing knowledge of her people. She seeks to teach young people and pass on the tradition and important healing spiritual teachings. However, in order to continue this work, it is necessary to strengthen the space´s infrastructure. The studies of Yawanawá spirituality are directly related to artistic practices, therefore Hushahu has envisioned the construction of a Center of Arts and Spirituality, a cultural space for her entire community and open to those who want to learn about Yawanawá knowledge.
Casa de Arte Yawanawá – The Yawanawá Art House
Funds generated by the Warrior Women Connect program for the Visionary Women’s Fund are allocated for the construction of the Yawanawá Art and Spirituality Center: a space for appreciation and encouragement for the arts, spiritual practices and knowledge of the Yawanawá people.
The Yawanawá Art House will be coordinated and guided by Hushahu, who will lead classes and workshops with women and men in her community.
In addition to the common spaces for coexistence and creation, there will also be spaces for lodging, to foster experiences and cultural exchanges among indigenous and non-indigenous groups from abroad and elsewhere.
The construction and the completion of this space will bring structural support to the Yawanawá’s spiritual work and allow for multiple cultural strengthening activities, which will nourish the community, and create a place to hone the artistic talents of the Yawanawá people.
It will also support forms of community sustainability through cultural exchange as it will provide a large space for study and spiritual deepening. This will be the space where people from other regions will be received to draw inspiration from the strength of Yawanawá women and men as everyone exchanges knowledge and learns from one another.
Sustainable Construction
The construction of the Yawanawá Art House will be based on the traditional Yawanawá architecture, incorporating bio-construction, and using local materials. The design is bioclimatic, with zenith ventilation openings, cross ventilation, and natural lighting. The bathrooms will have water treatment through a septic tank and a filtration system of zones of roots, using native plants. Solar Energy will power the Art House’s electrical system and artesian well water pump.
Native trees and species that are removed for construction will be replanted in a surrounding garden, along with an array of Yawanawá medicinal herbs.
Architectural Design Images
