Arapoty Institute

The Arapoty Institute’s mission is to spread the history, culture, and values of Brazil’s ancestral peoples; and to support the promotion and development of eco-sustainable actions in traditional communities and society in general. With headquarters in Itapecerica da Serra and a support office in France, it has been active for 23 years through seminars, workshops, courses, publications, cultural and educational programs for educators, students, artists, and society in general. In 2005, the idea that resulted in the overall action of the Arapoty Institute was awarded and recognized as innovative and entrepreneurial by one of the largest social entrepreneurship institutions in the world: Ashoka Social Entrepreneurs, present in 52 countries.

Between 2005 and 2015, the Arapoty Institute organized in Itapecerica da Serra, in partnership with the City Hall, exhibitions of indigenous art followed by educational lectures and cultural presentations with representatives of different indigenous ethnic groups; organized several craft fairs, recycling, etc., with the aim of transmitting human values, respect for cultural diversity, and fostering culture and citizenship. Thus, the Arapoty Cultural space was born, which in 2009 was recognized by the Ministry of Culture as a Ponto de Cultura, acting with several actions based on the indigenous and African matrices, aiming to train 30 young people for a period of 3 years as cultural agents, and also offering cultural activities for the local community and visitors, both in the urban space and at the headquarters, in the rural area.

The cultural activities continued and new groups were formed or strengthened from the experience of the Ponto de Cultura, such as Grupo Manuí (Leandro Pfeifer and Tatiana Zalla), Cia Deodara (African musicality), Salloma Sallomão, musician and doctor in African history, Kaká Werá who strengthened his work as a writer and lecturer. Thus, the work expanded and the teachers at the Ponto de Cultura continued their creative and artistic journeys, without, however, severing their ties with the Arapoty Institute. Currently, the work developed at the Ponto de Cultura is focused on bringing the values of indigenous culture and related themes, such as the environment, spirituality, human values, and the many expressions of art, through cultural workshops in schools.

The proposal of the ARAPOTY CULTURAL cultural point for 2022/2023 is to take the activities we have developed over the years to schools, because we realize that many principals, pedagogical coordinators, and teachers seek us out with the desire to learn more about indigenous culture and its diversity. At this time when we are experiencing attacks on the environment and indigenous peoples, we realize that the lack of knowledge about the values that guide indigenous knowledge, their relationship of respect with the land and everything that inhabits it, and the millennial capacity of indigenous peoples to live in harmony with the environment, thus Thus, it is urgent that we can be in the schools taking the vision of the ancestral peoples and try to sensitize as many people as possible to the urgency of the balance between urban needs and the environment’s capacity for renewal, and thus, contribute to the formation of a more conscious generation, based on the example and perception of other paths than the current model.

Arapoty Institute continues to believe that we can be a new Human tribe.