Impact · Cases · People
Ancestral wisdom and new tools: the power of Indigenous peoples in collective transformation.
Tekoa Pyau, Pico do Jaraguá (São Paulo) · Guarani Mbya leader, participant in Warriors Without Weapons 2024.
the village
In Tekoa Pyau, on Pico do Jaraguá, one of the seven Guarani Mbya villages in São Paulo. Yvoty is a leader there.
Prompted by a question from Rodrigo Rubido of Elos, she accepts the challenge set by Warriors Without Weapons.
the GSA 2024
A world view different from your own, and the realisation of what ‘unarmed warriors’ are: people who create tools for a better world.
Out and about in the local area, camera in hand: recognising what’s already there.
Listen, take note and plan together with the community.
together
The collective dream that drives the community effort, joy as part of the method.
People from all over, with a common purpose.
Ancient wisdom and new tools, side by side.
What Elos led: The initial challenge and training with the ‘Warriors Without Weapons’, through the ‘Caminho da Expansão’.
What Para Yvoty has achieved: a new understanding of its own leadership and the village’s potential, and the tools to continue the struggle for the demarcation of the territory and for harmony within it.
In the western part of São Paulo, Tekoa Pyau is one of the city’s seven Guarani Mbya villages. It is situated on Pico do Jaraguá, surrounded by housing estates, in an area that the Guarani have inhabited since the 16th century.
It was from there that Yvoty, aged 29, decided to take part in *Warriors Without Weapons*. The programme’s name is derived from the concept of *txucarramãe*, coined by Kaká Werá: warriors who swap their weapons for words, using their lives and their thoughts as tools for transformation.
The invitation came following a visit to the village by Rodrigo Rubido, from Elos. The question he raised led Yvoty to re-examine her own role as a leader, particularly in the midst of the struggle for the demarcation of the territory, which remains unresolved.
At GSA, immersion is just the beginning. During the ‘Path of Expansion’ stage, each participant brings their own project to life. As Mariana Gauche says, the answers vary from person to person, but the aim is the same: to emerge ready to transform one’s own context using the Elos method.
Those who have experienced it tell their stories
I looked around our village and thought: ‘We’re not going to be able to change things.’ But after hearing Rodrigo speak, I realised what we’ve already achieved and that we’re capable of continuing to build an atmosphere of harmony and peace.
To Yvoty
Guarani Mbya Leadership of Tekoa Pyau · GSA 2024
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