CONTEXTUALIZATION

The Kayapó Fund Project focuses on preserving five pieces of Kayapó indigenous land (TIs), located in the southern region of the state of Pará and the northern region of the state of Mato Grosso, in the region situated in the deforestation belt. These include: the Kayapó TI, the Menkragnoti TI, the Baú TI, the Badjonkôre TI and the Capoto-Jarina TI.

These TIs are part of a neighboring bloc located in the Xingu Basin and total an area of 10.6 million hectares. With this, this territory is one of the largest stretches of protected tropical forest in the world. Furthermore, it represents an important section of the Biodiversity Corridor of South Amazonian Ecotones, considered a significant region due to its rich biodiversity and the presence of species that are under the threat of extinction throughout the world.

The five Kayapó TIs are inhabited by close to 8,000 indigenous people of Kayapó ethnicity, who are, through efforts made by their organizations and with the support of the National Indigenous Fund (Funai), responsible for preserving the borders of their territories, which are under the threat of extreme deforestation. The Kayapó people have had notable success in maintaining the forest coverage on their land.

THE PROJECT

The Kayapó Fund Project plans to construct a long-term financial and operational mechanism, known as the Kayapó Fund, to provide support in developing projects with Kayapó organizations that are aimed at sustainable production activities, strengthening institutions, preventing deforestation, conserving biodiversity and protecting Kayapó TIs.

INTERVENTION LOGIC

The project is part of the "Sustainable Production" (1) and "Territorial Planning" components (3) component of the Amazon Fund’s Logical Framework. 

Click on the following image to view its objectives tree, that is, how the project's outputs and linked to the expected outcomes and impact.

ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED

The Kayapó Fund is a fund whose resources are used to support projects of Kayapó organizations, selected through public calls. Each public call is considered a project support cycle.

Four calls have been issued, resulting in the selection of eleven projects from three indigenous organizations representing the Mebêngôkre-Kayapó people in the Kayapó, Menkragnoti, Baú, Capoto/Jarina, and Las Casas indigenous lands.

The projects from the first call, completed in 2015, totaled BRL 433,947.30 and aimed at institutional strengthening and increasing productive activities, including the purchase of equipment and payment for human resources. The second call, totaling BRL 1,765,655.66, was completed in 2017, adding territorial monitoring actions to the previous focus areas.

The projects from the third call, totaling BRL 2,999,317.58, were completed in 2020 and included environmental management actions and the participation of Kayapó representatives in forums and bodies dedicated to the definition or implementation of actions related to indigenous peoples and lands. The fourth investment cycle of the Kayapó Fund, totaling BRL 4,197,130.27, was also completed.

It is worth noting that the supported associations developed strategies to cope with fluctuations in harvests and market values of their most representative income-generating products. Other important production chains included Brazil nuts, pequi, and copaiba, in addition to handicrafts, which not only generate income but also hold immense cultural significance for the Kayapó.

Regarding the territorial and environmental management activities carried out, improvements were made in terms of territory monitoring, strengthening social organization within the benefiting communities, and training local representatives. This resulted in an increase in the number of monitoring activities, the area monitored, and the number of individuals trained for these activities, including using GPS and other tools.

The institutional strengthening activities have enabled the supported associations to leverage additional resources and establish partnerships that reinforce the results provided by the Kayapó Fund in terms of territory and inhabitants' preservation.

Another outcome was the completion of a diagnostic and mapping study of the local indigenous associations present in the Kayapó territory, aimed at gaining a better understanding of the social fabric and evaluating the potential for broader future involvement. The report presents the historical dynamics of indigenous groups and associations, their divisions and realignments, and migratory flows within the territory. It also addresses relationships with non-indigenous individuals, including those involved in gold mining and mahogany exploitation. The study also covers the actions of the now-defunct Indian Protection Service (SPI) and Funai in their work with the communities over time.

* In the fourth cycle, the amount refers to the approved support value for the Project.