COFAN Education Project

The Cofan Education Project is a transformative initiative focused on preserving and transmitting the rich cultural heritage of the Cofan people in [Amazonian Ecuador and Colombia. This project addresses the urgent need to [empower Indigenous communities] by strengthening their ability to protect their culture, territory, and biodiversity.

Central to the project is FAI's vision of using a simplified mechanism known as the “3, 6, & 9 Triune,” which involves three key components: “integrative guidance” as a basic information orientation, “interactive enabler” as an exchange between entities, and “encompassing unifier” as the impact of uniting these elements. This framework can be applied to a wide range of global issues, particularly in the realm of cultural preservation, Indigenous education, and environmental sustainability.

​

FAI’s first effort in this direction focuses on the Cofan Indigenous people. This challenge takes on global urgency since Indigenous Peoples are stewards of over 70% of the world’s natural areas, representing one of the largest carbon sinks in dealing with climate change and ecosystem protection. Since 2021, Oliver and Claire Nicklin, on behalf of FAI, have worked with Cofan leaders and educators Amelia Quenama, Gissela Yumbo, and Emmy Mosburg Borman to create an innovative cultural transmission and education program. The curriculum includes subjects such as medicinal and food plants, the A’ingae language, traditional hunting, fishing, crafts, building techniques, and cooking methods.

​​

This program aims to preserve and teach Cofan traditions in a manner that honors both traditional knowledge and modern educational practices. Working alongside community experts, the team has documented over 100 medicinal plants, along with traditional techniques, foods, crafts, and daily practices of the Cofan people. This valuable information is being compiled into a comprehensive Cofan Encyclopedia, a living record designed to safeguard and share this cultural heritage among current and future generations. The encyclopedia forms a foundation for long-term digital preservation and intercultural learning about Indigenous Amazonian knowledge systems..

​

Beyond the immediate benefit to the Cofan communities of Ecuador and Colombia, the project can serve as a model for other indigenous communities, offering a framework that emphasizes self-determined cultural preservation rather than externally imposed values. At the same time, this integrative guidance extends to training for incorporating modern technologies involving motorized canoes, drones, and geographic information systems. Importantly, all of these educational programs are interactively shared among the Cofan community to favorably impact their viability.

​

The project has recently expanded to include the establishment of the Lifeboat Garden Center, a new site located in ancestral Cofan territory. The Center serves as a conservation and education hub dedicated to the protection of ancestral and medicinal plants long valued by the Cofan people but now at risk due to climate change and territorial loss. It provides a living classroom where Indigenous Amazonian groups can meet to exchange traditional plant knowledge, share ancestral practices, cultivate native species, and strengthen intercommunity collaboration in biodiversity protection and cultural preservation. The Lifeboat Garden Center embodies sustainable development principles and reinforces the Cofan community’s role as a global leader in Indigenous climate resilience and environmental stewardship.

Beyond the immediate benefit to the Cofan communities of Ecuador and Colombia, the project can serve as a model for other Indigenous communities, offering a framework that emphasizes self-determined cultural preservation, Indigenous empowerment, and local leadership rather than externally imposed values. Participants are encouraged to “see with both eyes,” harmonizing Indigenous and global perspectives and preparing youth to engage meaningfully with diverse cultural and environmental challenges.
At the same time, this integrative guidance extends to training for incorporating modern technologies involving motorized canoes, drones, and geographic information systems. Importantly, all of these educational programs are interactively shared among the Cofan community to favorably impact their viability. 

​

It is hoped that other Indigenous communities and the Ministry of Education will adapt and build on this curriculum, thereby being an “encompassing unifier.”

​

Looking forward, the team is securing additional funding to complete, distribute, and digitize the Cofan Encyclopedia for long-term preservation. Plans are also underway to expand the Lifeboat Garden Center into a stable hub for Cofan elders to pass on essential cultural knowledge, teaching traditional aspects of Indigenous Amazonian lifeways such as languages, hunting, fishing, gardening, medicinal plant knowledge, building methods, and cooking practices. These next steps aim to ensure that Cofan youth inherit not only their community’s wisdom but also the capacity to integrate it into a rapidly changing world. Future goals include extending the program’s reach through online educational resources and partnerships with other Indigenous Amazonian communities.