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Empowering the Indigenous Communities of Chile
SKILLS and the Indigenous People of Chile There are ten distinct indigenous groups in Chile, and their people make up roughly 10% of the Chilean population. However, Chile is the only Latin American country that does not acknowledge or represent Indigenous people and their rights in its constitution. Art is an enormous part of life…
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6 Indigenous Women Artists We’re Obsessed With
If you know SKI Charities, you know we’re passionate about empowering women artists—especially our beneficiaries in Chile who keep their indigenous Mapuche heritage alive in their work. We’re proud to be part of keeping these vulnerable but essential traditions alive. In many indigenous communities and cultures, art is an enormous part of life. But many…
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Celebrating Indigenous Culture At Our Chile Site
Whenever our founder, Shyam K. Iyer, visits our site in Lebu, Chile, he returns inspired by the crafts, textiles, and food being created by SKImfi microfinance beneficiaries of indigenous Mapuche heritage. SKI Charities aims to give women a path to start and grow sustainable businesses that encourage them to utilize their culturally-embedded skillset. We talked…
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Here’s What You Should Know About the Indigenous Mapuche People of Chile
Indigenous peoples throughout the Americas—and throughout the world, for that matter—have had to face the brutal force of colonization for hundreds of years. The native Mapuche people of Chile, who we serve through our microfinance and creative arts programs, have been a model of resistance against colonization and oppression. Even today, those left in Chile…
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How Our Programs Help Single Mothers
There’s a lot of stigma around single motherhood—after all, many mothers today choose to raise children on their own. And in the U.S. studies show that children raised by single mothers aren’t necessarily at a disadvantage to children from homes with two parents. But in Zimbabwe, where there’s an ongoing economic crisis, the financial hardship…
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Why We’re Obsessed With Mapuche Singer Ana Tijoux
It’s easy to think of Mapuche culture as being rooted in the past. The indigenous group native to Chile is known for artisan techniques such as silversmithing and weaving that date back all the way to 1300 AD. But to keep the culture of this resilient people alive, artists are innovating on Mapuche traditions—that’s why…
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Why It’s Essential to Keep Mapuche Art Alive
Our work in Southern Chile primarily focuses on women who are part of Chile’s largest indigenous group: the Mapuche. Meaning “people of the Earth,” the Mapuche resisted Spanish conquest and still today have maintained many aspects of their culture in the face of assimilation. That’s just one of the reasons why in addition to providing…
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Celebrating Ancestry and Craftsmanship in Lebu and Beyond
Lebu isn’t the only town that boasts local, indigenous talent in Chile – Chile’s northernmost region, Arica y Parinacota, is home to a large indigenous population that has long maintained the tradition of craftsmanship. It hasn’t been without hardship, though, to celebrate this idea of community-oriented building and craft. These small towns in Chile, rural…
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A Conversation with Shyam: 2014 | The Year in Review
As we begin an exciting new year, SKIC founder Shyam K. Iyer takes a moment to reflect upon 2014. The organization saw a lot of growth this past year – with two programs operating fully in both Chile and Zimbabwe, SKIC’s operating sites. This past year we introduced a new program SKILLS, the SKI Local…
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A Conversation with Shyam: SKILLS, The Latest Branch of SKIC
SKIC founder, Shyam, sits down to talk about the latest branch of our organization, SKILLS – the SKI Local Life Survey. SKILLS began this year in Lebu, Chile with the intention of showcasing and supporting the local arts community that thrives there. This branch hopes to illuminate the stories that local Chilean artists have to…