The Tandana Foundation Blog

As more families seek refuge in Bandiagara, Mali as a result of ongoing insecurity and violence in other parts of the country, The Tandana Foundation continues to expand its support through its displaced students’ program. Recently, Tandana representatives provided an initial distribution of food to 175 students while continuing to follow up on the support it has provided previously for their parents to start income-generating activities.

In early August, we (five faculty members from Miami University in Ohio) traveled to the highlands of Otavalo, Ecuador. The goal of our trip was to explore potential interdisciplinary study abroad programs with an experiential learning focus, so we asked The Tandana Foundation to expose us to a range of potential opportunities for future students. We stayed with wonderful host families in the rural community of Yambiro, engaged in mingas (community work projects) at a water treatment plant and a school, and learned about Kichwa culture and traditions, tilapia farming, indigenous justice systems, and so much more.

Continue reading “Miami University faculty members reflect on their experiences and learnings from a trip to Ecuador with Tandana”

Amid ongoing insecurity in other regions of Mali, The Tandana Foundation partners with the community on a program for students of displaced families who are now living in Bandiagara. Tandana’s displaced students program provides educational and food support to families so the students could attend school and settle into their new city as well as provides training and resources for the parents to pursue income-generating activities so they could better support their families. 

In September, five university students from highland Ecuador will be traveling to Southeastern Colorado and Northwestern New Mexico as part of a new service learning and cultural exchange program organized by The Tandana Foundation, a nonprofit organization that partners with communities in remote regions of Ecuador and Mali. 

Continue reading “Tandana to bring university scholarship recipients from rural Ecuador to U.S. for first-of-its-kind program with local and indigenous communities”

There are now 36 villages across the Wadouba Township of Mali that have joined the Olouguelemo Environmental Association and are working together on climate change adaptation and regeneration initiatives.  

I am Margarita, a member of the Kichwa Otavalo indigenous community, and I live in Panecillo, Otavalo, Ecuador. I work with The Tandana Foundation, an organization with a presence in Ecuador, Mali, and the United States. For many years, I have shared my time with foreigners who come to our communities as volunteers. I always heard people say, “We come from the United States, which is in North America.” Since then, I have felt a mixture of curiosity and joy when welcoming people from other countries into my home, to teach them about my traditional clothing, our stories, and our culture.

The Tandana Foundation has supported women to learn to run a menstrual kit workshop in the Bandiagara Region of Mali. The reusable sanitary kits are made using sewing machines and sold at an affordable price to local women and girls.