"SACHATECA, A LIBRARY IN THE JUNGLE".

BACKGROUND

The "Yachay Wasi" library was an idea that emerged driven by feelings of love for reading and books that Medardo Tapia (its founder) shows with passion and inspiration; love for children and love for the hardworking hands that cultivate the fields and inhabit the Amazon rainforest. It is an open space where workshops and meetings of all kinds have also been held, from theater workshops for children, biodiversity research, to training processes for peasants, peoples and nationalities, on topics such as agroecology, environmental education, gender violence, etc.. We want it to become a true meeting of knowledge, where its books are not only a valuable instrument for the transmission, reinforcement and dissemination of knowledge, but also serve to encourage reading for purely recreational and satisfying purposes.

Although the work carried out has had the protection and conservation of nature as its main driving force, it would not be complete without addressing the social being and its realities. For this reason, the content has been extended to the social sphere, covering topics such as migration and socioeconomic reality, vital to develop a conservation strategy where ancestral knowledge and western knowledge are interwoven. Through reading and playful activities, an attractive tool for learning and awareness has been created.

This work was creating the the need to generate a space for readingIt was a place open to everyone, boys and girls, teenagers, community members and visitors of all kinds who could find a book that caught their attention. Books were recovered from recycling centers that were going to be destroyed, we received some donations from visitors who came to Zanja Arajuno and little by little the idea of an open-air library was born, reading a book while enjoying nature, or having a field guide to identify a biological species. A space for young and old. Little by little we have been able to compile books of different kinds to form the library and to promote this initiative, in 2021 a Tambo de lectura was established in the Mariscal Sucre community, where Roberto Guerrero (@osvaldo.guerra00), led this process as a reading mediator. The Tambos de Lectura are an initiative of the Ministry of Culture and Heritage, through the José de la Cuadra National Book and Reading Plan, and within the framework of inter-institutional cooperation with the Organization of Ibero-American States for Education, Science and Culture (OEI). These are spaces for reading mediation located in strategic places due to their geographic location and their capacity to bring together communities that have usually been relegated from reading instances. Around 17 children from the community participated in the process, which was very well received; the children took part in playful activities that encouraged reading and began to take books home on loan so that this interest in reading would have an impact on the family nucleus.

In 2023, through the "pen pals" project, children from Mariscal and children from the Alfaguara Educational Foundation They exchanged letters written in the traditional way, which were sent by parcel, which allowed them to support the process of reading and writing while experiencing more affective and enriching forms of communication; this contrasts with the new forms of communication and liquid modernity that makes human bonds more precarious.

These processes have brought together diverse talents and joint dreams, where the idea of strengthening the library and enhancing its service to the community in general was consolidated.

CALL FOR INDEPENDENT LIBRARIES

In 2024, the "Yachay Wasi" Library applied to the public competition "Independent Libraries: Bibliographic Catalog and reading mediation", convened by the Institute for the Promotion of Creativity and Innovation (IFCI), and after a selection process, the proposal "Sachateca, a library in the jungle" whose main objective is to promote and raise awareness about the importance of the habit of reading and care of the Ecuadorian Amazon, both articulating aspects in contexts of deterioration of nature and facing the global need for forest conservation, was among the 10 beneficiaries of that call.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION AND EXECUTION PROGRESS

"Sachateca, a library in the jungle" is a proposal that articulates the wonders of life in the Ecuadorian Amazon with the promotion of reading. The idea is to combine the enjoyment of having a healthy environment and the powerful tool of reading as access to knowledge. With this project it is intended that both elements promote awareness and awareness about the deterioration of tropical forests and their conservation, as well as the promotion of reading.

We are currently improving the service provided by the library through the provision and restoration of furniture and reinforcement of the bibliographic catalog. We have also begun training in reading mediation with colleagues from different communities, and technical training will be provided to the staff of the Yachay Wasi Library. Once the Sachateca has been strengthened, it will become a key space for raising awareness about life in the Ecuadorian Amazon through the implementation of a mobile library that will provide services to communities in the provinces of Pastaza and Napo where reading mediation is key.