Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi
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| Founded | 1992 (First office opened in 1996 in Villa Tunari, Bolivia) |
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| Founder | Juan Carlos Antezana, Tania "Nena" Baltazar |
| Type | Non-governmental organization |
| Focus | Wildlife and environmental education, animal rights, and conservation |
| Location | |
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Area served
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Bolivia |
| Method | education, wildlife care, research and lobbying |
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Key people
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Tania Baltazar (President) |
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Revenue
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$416,000 (2010) |
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Employees
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15 |
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Volunteers
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45–140 |
| Slogan | Marking a difference in the protection and conservation of wildlife in Bolivia and beyond. |
| Website | intiwarayassi.org |
Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi (CIWY) is a non-governmental organization dedicated to environmental education and the care of sick, mistreated and abandoned wildlife. Based and operated in Bolivia, it is the country's largest single destination for confiscated wildlife, though due to space limitations they are unable to accept all. The organization also carries out environmental activism and educational roles, focusing on animal rights and conservation. The name comprises words from three indigenous languages meaning sun, star and moon in the Quechua, Aymara and Chiriguano Guaraní languages.
The organization is supported by international volunteers that stay for a minimum of two weeks. Volunteers care for animals, clean and build cages and prepare food.
In 1986, Juan Carlos Antezana and Tania "Nena" Baltazar began working with impoverished youth in a small neighborhood in El Alto, La Paz. They worked to support the needs of miners' children who had relocated to the area, providing alternative education including carpentry workshops, tailoring, horticulture in greenhouses and other activities.
As part of the education program, the children were taken on field trips to the Yungas region of La Paz. During one such trip, the children witnessed the effect of man’s impact on the environment and the effect that slash-and-burn agriculture has on wildlife. This deeply affected the children, and they agreed to create an environmental movement with the aim of showing the public the negative effect of destroying the rainforest and other activities that cause damage to nature. Marches were held in La Paz, Oruro, Santa Cruz, Sucre and Cochabamba. These youth formed an integral part in CIWY's early attempts to raise awareness of environmental destruction.
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Wikipedia