Families of the Forest, Research Paper Example

Overview of the Culture Group in Families of the Forest

Families of the forest is an ethnography written by Allen Johnson that defines the Matsigenka group of Shimaa living in the Peruvian Amazon. These people live isolated in forested mountains and along river valleys in the Peruvian Amazon (Johnson, 2003). The Matsigenka group inhabits small villages of 7-25 persons, constituting 3-5 nuclear households. These culture groups prefer living in these settlements to avert any form of interaction with external individuals of their direct family. The Matsigenka group lives in a household-level society, enabling them to dodge exploitation or meet enemies (Johnson, 2003). Therefore, their isolated homestead is extremely self-reliant since they have plenty of good horticultural land. Broadly dispersed small settlements with low population density imply strong evidence that infers minimal competition among household groups where wild exist. Insect larvae are the most common food for this culture as they also live off of foraging, horticulture, and fishing. The insect larvae give them dietary fats and proteins and, they can acquire these elements throughout the year from wasps, moths, bees, butterflies, and beetles. Matsigenka’s cultural values aren’t wide apart from Western culture. Most of their religious beliefs originate from spirits and folklore hence, promoting appropriate behaviors within the group. These cultural groups can be quiet, calm, kind, violent, aggressive, and mean. Though the Matsigenka can be less friendly in large assemblies, they are more thoughtful and courteous in personal interactions.

Moreover, they are less concerned with the new value systems and the lure of commerce. This paper will analyze the psycho-ecological research of the Matsigenka of the Peruvian Amazon. It will also focus on the needs and resources of the Matsigenka culture and future projects that meet the culture’s requirements.

Needs and Resource Assessment Based on the Ethnographic Description

When reading Johnson’s Families of the Forest, some specific requirements would be advantageous to the Matsigenka group. The Matsigenka needs’ assessment starts by acquiring the data from the ethnography and then establishing it to the community’s problems. Easy access to drinking water is the first need since it often fetches their water from the river. However, they are not living closer to the river due to their fear of danger and wish for isolation.

During the high-water season or Kimoariniku, the path usually becomes muddy, making it difficult to access the roads (Johnson, 2003). When they encounter a low season of water, even the little watercourses that supply the families’ needs often dry up, compelling people to haul water from the river in heavy slipping gourds as they climb up very steep tracks on their way back home. Additionally, the Matsigenka group tends to experience long dry seasons of water, leading to wilting of crops in a well-drained ground under the penetrating sun (Johnson, 2003). The Matsigenkas eagerly watch the skies for any sign of rain.

The author mentioned that a family lacked latrine, though many individuals would use land strips where brush grows for defecation (Johnson, 2003). There are preferred locations for kids’ defecation and urination. The Matsigenka are usually repulsed by people and animals’ feces. Toddlers’ feces are quickly picked into a leaf and disposed of, especially those who haven’t been trained. The Matsigenka always try to practice good health, though they lack effective tools and approaches to ensure they don’t contract any infectious ailments.

Proposed Development Project

Conversing the proposed requirements of the Matsigenka can’t take place in the absence of a proposed development plan to accompany every need. Accessibility of drinking water is the first requirement on the proposal board. The Matsigenka community needs manually bored wells to facilitate water security. Cooperating with school communities might contribute to funding and gaining donations via administrations that will help manually drill water holes for the community. Incorporating such a task could be used to enhance quick explanation to different homesteads on the significance of boiling water that helps prevent transmittable illnesses (United Nations, 2010).

Pit latrines are the second most needed in the Matsigenka group. Building latrines is an important project that helps prevent ailments and keep the community healthy via thorough sanitation. Most areas using latrines usually gather the waste and transport it further for processing used as compost. However, executing this process might be complex because the Matsigenka people live in isolation and have inaccessible roads that make transportation difficult (Johnson, 2003).

Building latrines will enhance high levels of sanitation and avert water contamination (Mara, 2017). Constructing these facilities will help create awareness of the importance of pit latrines within the community by educating them to avoid defecating waste materials in their living zones (Giribabu et al., 2019). Also, washing hands after using the pit latrines will play an essential role in averting infectious illnesses and the swift spread of bacteria. The Matsigenka community is already initiating good behaviors by avoiding defecation and urination to facilitate their shift using pit latrines.

Funding Sources

Grants are one of the many ways that a nonprofit can find funding to expand a program. This section will cover four different types of organizations that give out grants for nonprofits.

1. Corporate foundation grants have the explicit purpose of giving out charitable grants to nonprofits (Ilma Ibrisevic, 2019). They can finance us once we present their proposal of building proper latrines to enhance effective defecation for the Matsigenka group.
2. Government funding though it’s the toughest since it requires so much paperwork and bureaucracy. But once we’ve filed paperwork, they can provide building materials to erect several latrines in the area.
3. Corporate giving programs will allow their employees to form a committee and vote on a certain course to give sponsorship dollars. Therefore, they can finance our project by drilling water wells at three points at maximum. It will enhance abundant water sources available for drinking and other domestic use for the Matsigenka community.
4. Family foundation grants usually give out their money in a more organized manner. They will find our proposal useful and lend a hand in putting more money into sanitation needs to prevent infectious diseases.

References

Giribabu, D., Bharadwaj, P., Sitiraju, R., Burra, M., Rao, P. P., & Reddy, C. S. (2019). Combating open defecation through community-led sanitation. Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Medical Journal, 1(3-4), 45-51.

Ilma Ibrisevic. (2019, February 26). Top Funding Sources for Nonprofits and Charities – Donorbox. Nonprofit Blog. https://donorbox.org/nonprofit-blog/nonprofit-funding-sources/

Johnson, A. (2003). Families of the Forest: The Matsigenka Indians of the Peruvian Amazon. Berkeley: University of California Press.

Mara, D. (2017). The elimination of open defecation and its adverse health effects: a moral imperative for governments and development professionals. Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development, 7(1), 1-12.

United Nations. (2010). Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene | UN-Water. UN-Water. https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/water-sanitation-and-hygiene/