The Kichwa community of Serena in the Ecuadorian Amazon has upheld its cultural heritage since before the arrival of Western colonialism. The conservation of our ancestral traditions is the legacy left behind by generations of Serena’s community members. Through our process of revitalization and preservation of ancient pottery techniques, our native Kichwa language and ceremonies such as the Wayusaupina, we are creating a cultural anchor in the Amazonian Ecuador for neighboring neighboring communities.

Serena’s ancestral pottery techniques, passed on from generation to generation of Kichwa artisans, are an inherent part of its cultural patrimony. These techniques are a connection to knowledge upheld throughout centuries, a way of bringing objects with deep historical and cultural significance to life. Through cultural restoration, the women of Serena are reviving these techniques, investigating traditional modeling methods, the use of local clay, and traditional designs.

Kichwa is one of the native language of indigenous communities in Ecuador. Kichwa is the heart of the community and a fundamental part of indigenous identity and day-to-day life. In Serena, its proud, Kichwa-speaking inhabitants are upholding efforts to revitalize the native language through bilingual education, ensuring its survival and promoting its active use in community meeting spaces. Serena and Hakhu are committed to preserving and strengthening Kichwa as an ancestral language, with its unique, local vocabulary shaped by the reciprocity between the Amazon, its plants and animal life, and our ancestors.

Among the most sacred traditions of the native peoples of the Ecuadorian Amazon is its Wayusaupina ceremony. The Serena community continues to uphold this morning ceremony, with its sacred songs, rituals and traditions, passed on from our grandparents to help us connect with our roots and ‘ayaguna,’ ancestors.

In Serena we uphold our cultural resistance and revitalization!