What It Means to Reclaim Indigenous Knowledge in a University Setting in Bolivia

[Judi Lynn]

What It Means to Reclaim Indigenous Knowledge in a University Setting in Bolivia

Translation posted 13 June 2016 20:33 GMT

In classrooms, they speak about decolonization and respect for Mother Earth. They study food engineering, veterinary medicine, agronomy or textile engineering, while recovering ancient technology and innovating with new natural products. They go on to support the creation of community businesses.

Welcome to the Aymara Indigenous University of Bolivia “Túpac Katari”, also known as Unibol, based in the town of Warisata near La Paz, which brings together indigenous students from Bolivia with the aim of combining formal academic education with traditional knowledge of the indigenous communities.

In the following testimonies, some Indigenous University students share their impressions, experiences, and what it has meant for their personal growth to belong to this educational project. For many of them, studying at the Unibol means recovering ancestral knowledge, enriching a decolonial thinking and developing an inclusive and intercultural mode of knowledge production.

An inclusive education for all

Noemí Campos Yarari, a textile engineering student, says about the university:

Translation
Original Quote


I am from the Muñecas province of La Paz, in the second section Ayata, of the Huancarani community […] I think this is a very good [university] that welcomes students who mostly come from the provinces, the countryside, and the households with few resources.

More:
https://globalvoices.org/2016/06/13/what-it-means-to-reclaim-indigenous-knowledge-in-a-university-setting-in-bolivia/

Article written in Aymara. Fascinating:

http://lapublica.org.bo/articulos-jaqi-aru/item/1007-unibol-ukanx-kunati-askik-ukax-askikiskiwa-kunati-jan-walik-ukaw-turkana#aymara

[Chakaconcarne]

1. To have any type of Government job in Bolivia..

It is required that you speak the native language. Pretty cool.

The unfortunate thing about University in Bolivia is that it is accessible to most, but the Universities are in large Metro areas and many can't afford to live near universities.

That goes for indigenous people that want to go to primary education (elementary, middle school) They can't afford to live next to schools even in smaller towns.

Not a wealthy country, but things are improving there.