Join us for this very special event in support of indigenous women
Chicha is a traditional fermented drink, usually made with the local white corn or sweet potato, and used to be widely consumed on social occasions by the Guarani e Kaiowaa community of Mato Grosso do Sul (indigenous peoples in modern-day Brazil.)
This traditional process of making chicha is female-led, usually by an elder woman shaman (nhandesy) – the guardians of the chicha. The whole process is overseen by the nhandesy, from harvest to processing of the plants to final fermentation. It is usually a familial practice with mothers teaching daughters and granddaughters. It is a process that thrives on the communal spaces of the tekoha (the community).
In this webinar we will explore the traditional process of chicha making itself but also the relevance and role it has for the Guarani e Kaiowaa . This conversation will take place between The Fermentation School and the elders, facilitated by Paula who will be in situ at tekoha Guyra Kamby’y and their answer will be translated by Daniela Jorge Joao their yavaraija
This sharing of the chicha-making knowledge is welcomed and supported by the community, as a way of empowering and documenting a practice that is currently endangered and falling in disuse.
All the proceeds from this webinar event will be donated to the community, to complete the construction of their sacred house (ogapysy).
As a result of being cut out of natural sources of their traditional building materials (as they are surrounded by industrial agricultural practices), the community has to pay overboard for shipping these natural fibers to cover the ogapysy.
Why this webinar is important
The threat to the Guarani e Kaiowaa people has been widely reported, the United Nations – Brazil produced a documentary in 2017 about the appalling conditions they are submitted.
Their original territory has long been encroached by industrial cattle farming, but since the 70s, there has been a lot of increased pressure from the government in the occupation of the area and clearing for industrial agricultural practices. Added to that, there is a growing presence of evangelical churches in the area that demonize the work of the traditional shamans: the nhanderu (man) and nhandesy (woman).
Of the Guarani e Kaiowaa population of around 45,000, a third live in makeshift roadside encampments, the others are distributed over 8 recognized indigenous reserves. These overcrowded conditions, combined with limited access to their raw materials and ecological pressure on their environment due to climate change has caused great harm in the practice of chicha making as part of a familial structure. There is no space for the traditional setup of the tekohas – (traditional communal villages) to exercise the agricultural practices that underpin chicha making. In 2023, a persistent drought caused issues with access to clean water too.
In the last 12 month alone there has been 2 arsons of sacred houses, and in one case the nhanderu and nhandey were burned alive with their ogapsy. The high number of suicides (3x of the non-indigenous population) and violent deaths amongst young people combined with the attack on the holders of tradition means that chicha making is a dying practice among the Guarani e Kaiowaa.
Your participation in this event will not only expand and deepen your world, it will also provide needed support and voice for a traditional practice and a living community under threat.
You have the option to pay the minimum fee, or to expand your donation. Please participate as you are inspired. Thank you.
Webinar host
Brazilian-born and bred, Paula’s fermentation journey started in the UK. In the last 10 years she went from making water kefir at home, with a copy of Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz to starting a small fermentation business during the pandemic using surplus from her adopted home in Somerset to start learning and experimenting with mold ferments. A couple of years ago she decided to look back at her ancestry (her father is from the Amazon, and her Granny from native stock) and started researching Brazilian ferments and in particular ancestra drinks. On August 2023 she went on a field trip to her father’s homeland in the Amazon and to Pantanl region to do some research. That led to an encounter with the Guarani e Kaiowaa of Mato Grosso do Sul, where she was welcomed by a community in Antonio Joao to make local sweet potato chicha with nhandesy Fausta.
She felt compelled to document their practice and become a facilitator for them to tell their stories. The Guarani e Kaiowaa are one of the most embattled indigenous communities in Brazil and with dwindling numbers and at-risk communities, the practice of chicha making is falling into disuse.
