When
we went up to the communities of Wayuumaana and Kasusaain for the first time in
2008, we were mesmerized by the struggle and clarity of the Wayuu that live
alongside the Socuy river, defending this territory and the principal artery
that supplies Maracaibo with their water. Now once more we went to visit and
update ourselves on this struggle for land, water, and dignity.
During
this visit we saw that the work of nurseries of native trees to create
biocorridors for wild animals and organic crops continues on, along with the
breeding of red-footed tortoise, an initiative to save these animals from
ending up as the lunch of other inhabitants of the Sierra. 
Another part of the
process of defending this territory, and the fight against coal mining, Autonomous
Indigenous Organization Maikiralasalii is implementing its own development that
respects the Wayuu view of the land and assures that future Wayuu generations
will be able to live in this area and enjoy the same things as those who live
there now. This time we saw that the level of the Socuy River was the lowest
we'd ever seen it, more evidence of the hard summer that is hitting here as a
consequence of the El Niño climate phenomenon.
Another part of the
process of defending this territory, and the fight against coal mining, Autonomous
Indigenous Organization Maikiralasalii is implementing its own development that
respects the Wayuu view of the land and assures that future Wayuu generations
will be able to live in this area and enjoy the same things as those who live
there now. This time we saw that the level of the Socuy River was the lowest
we'd ever seen it, more evidence of the hard summer that is hitting here as a
consequence of the El Niño climate phenomenon.
There
are certain things that are very particular and beautiful about these
communities that have astonished many people who have visited here including
many positions on certain subjects that clash with the stereotype of the Wayuu.
One of the positions that amazes people is that it is prohibited to hunt or
capture animals in the communities along the Socuy river. For more than 10
years now the howler monkeys and the great variety of macaws, toucans, parrots
and parakeets have benefitted from this protection, you already note in their
behavior that they don't feel threatened and they are frequenting the land of
people who don't do anything to them, each time with less fear of humans. On
this occasion, besides seeing those animals, we saw the birds known as mochileros
for their particular hanging nest, a caiman and even an otter with three babies
at night.
The
challenge for Maikiralasalii and the ecological collectives of Maracaibo is
very clear, but enormous: to save the water, the land, and life itself, not
only of the Sierra de Perijá but of the whole watershed of Lake Maracaibo. Cattle
ranching, the mono-cropping of malanga for junk food, and coal mining is the pretext for cutting down the forests, this
destroys the soil and the rivers of the Sierra de Perijá and La Guajira which
become polluted and dry. Then the communities that are in the path of the
transport of coal are left with the constant traffic of heavy machinery and
coal dust that covers and pollutes clothing, water, and vegetation – all this
before the coal is exported to the US, Canada, or the European Union, where it
is burned to generate electricity for those countries and accelerates climate
change. 
The coal also has to pass through coastal communities that live off of
small scale fishing and tourism, which are left in ruins by the destruction of
the mangroves, beaches, and other marine ecosystems in the area due to the construction
of port infrastructure and the pollution from coal that inevitably falls into
the ocean, contributing to the serious contamination of Lake Maracaibo.
The coal also has to pass through coastal communities that live off of
small scale fishing and tourism, which are left in ruins by the destruction of
the mangroves, beaches, and other marine ecosystems in the area due to the construction
of port infrastructure and the pollution from coal that inevitably falls into
the ocean, contributing to the serious contamination of Lake Maracaibo.
We
were able to be present at one of a series of forums organized by Homo et
Natura about strategies for protecting and restoring the Sierra de Perijá and
saving Lake Maracaibo, to create a real revolution within the energy model in
the state of Zulia and all of Venezuela and launching an initiative to begin to
get Venezuela off of its dependence on oil and hydrocarbons. 
We learned in this
forum that Lake Maracaibo really is an estuary due to the presence of both
fresh water and salt water because of its connection to the sea, and it is the
biggest in the world, and a big part of the contamination of this watershed is
not only due to oil extraction but also the use of agricultural chemicals in
the surrounding area, making the Catatumbo River the principal tributary of
contamination, in grand part due to mono-crops of coca and aerial fumigations
of glyphosate in the headwaters which are in Colombia.
We learned in this
forum that Lake Maracaibo really is an estuary due to the presence of both
fresh water and salt water because of its connection to the sea, and it is the
biggest in the world, and a big part of the contamination of this watershed is
not only due to oil extraction but also the use of agricultural chemicals in
the surrounding area, making the Catatumbo River the principal tributary of
contamination, in grand part due to mono-crops of coca and aerial fumigations
of glyphosate in the headwaters which are in Colombia.
Part
of the strategy is the large scale generation of energy through wind, solar,
and natural gas as a counter-proposal to the creation of Port Bolívar, the coal
mines of Perijá, and the coal-fired power plant in Guasare, and to be able to
have energy independence in the west of the country from the Gurí dam, on the other
end of Venezuela in the state of Bolívar. The idea isn't to create another
megaproject this is just the first steps, the real challenge is to use this
project to encourage every municipality in the country to generate the
megawatts of electricity that they consume within their territory, urban and
rural, using small and medium scale solar and wind energy projects, this based
on a lot of the principals of distributed generation. That the generation and
consumption of energy really be a public good and not a business, and start
moving towards houses, city blocks, neighborhoods, apartment buildings, and all
kinds of communities achieving energy autonomy.
It's
rather ambitious but also innovative and refreshing to see this strategy come
from a country and above all a region that historically has been characterized
by the exploitation of oil, which has left a tremendous footprint of ecocide.
Now this same country is generating these initiatives and research, and pushing
forward these efforts to protect such a big area, and the same people and
communities are generating these changes. Reflecting on the 5th Congress of Biodiversity, the initiatives within the University Hospital of
Maracaibo, Hierba Buena, Ecoluciones Venezuela, Homo et Natura, Maikiralasalii
and much more, it’s evident that there is creativity here and the desire to
recover this land, from the mountains and rivers of the Sierra, to the beaches
and mangroves of the gulf and estuary.
Once
again, we had the opportunity to show Mesoamérica Resiste to the members of
Maikiralasalii, after one of their assemblies and before an agro-ecology
workshop. It's always a pleasure to share our work with the people of
Maikiralasalii, since the first time we were there they have appropriated the
work of the Beehive Collective so much that they have their own Plan Colombia
and True Cost of Coal banners that they use as teaching materials in the
autonomous school Yalayalamana where they teach children in the Wayuunaiki
language. The people who came to our presentation were very interested, taking
notes in their notebooks and commenting on the themes throughout the
presentation. There were people who interpreted the explanation into Wayuunaiki
for elders who didn't understand Spanish and amongst themselves they talked
about the different issues in the banner in their own language. 
On this visit
we only left a few Mesoamérica Resiste posters with Maikiralasalii for them to
keep working with, but in the future we hope to facilitate getting them a
banner that they can incorporate into their processes of learning and development.
After presenting Mesoamérica Resiste, someone from Homo et Natura led a
biofertilizer workshop and made a barrel of biofertilizer that was left to
ferment for future use.
On this visit
we only left a few Mesoamérica Resiste posters with Maikiralasalii for them to
keep working with, but in the future we hope to facilitate getting them a
banner that they can incorporate into their processes of learning and development.
After presenting Mesoamérica Resiste, someone from Homo et Natura led a
biofertilizer workshop and made a barrel of biofertilizer that was left to
ferment for future use.
We
continue to support our dear friends from Zulia and Maikiralasalii from afar,
and the whole process that they are working on there with as much discipline as
the jeyuu (ants) and the wunuu’ain (bees). We hope to be able to return next year, since we've been
able to visit at least once a year since 2009, maintaining our support and
affinity every year for these processes of defending Mother Earth. 
Once again
we close this cycle in Venezuela, happy for the friendships and partnerships
that we have here and the new ones that we're creating on our flight path as
Bees. If anyone is interested in supporting the communities of Socuy or other
communities in the process of defending their territory through helping us send
posters or banners, or other support, please be in touch with us Bees through
emailing polinizaciones@gmail.com.
Once again
we close this cycle in Venezuela, happy for the friendships and partnerships
that we have here and the new ones that we're creating on our flight path as
Bees. If anyone is interested in supporting the communities of Socuy or other
communities in the process of defending their territory through helping us send
posters or banners, or other support, please be in touch with us Bees through
emailing polinizaciones@gmail.com. 
