ETNOTURISMO NO TERRITÓRIO INDÍGENA KADIWÉU

Abstract

The Kadiwéu Indigenous Territory covers an area of approximately 539,000 hectares, making it the largest demarcated indigenous territory outside the Legal Amazon. With six villages and around 1,400 people, it is located between the Cerrado and Pantanal biomes, under the watchful protection of its guardians, the Kadiwéu people. Considering the need for autonomous territorial planning, in 2018 the Kadiwéu began to develop the ‘Kadiwéu Indigenous Territory Life Plan’ with the support of Wetlands International Brazil and Mupan (Women in Action in the Pantanal). During this participatory planning process, leaders expressed a desire to improve community income, develop tools to ensure employment opportunities – especially for young people – and strengthen the cultural elements of the community. Thus began a long process of dialogue, maturation and structuring of proposals around ethno-tourism. The territory already indirectly has a dynamic geared towards receiving visitors, especially for the purchase of Kadiwéu ceramics or to visit local waterfalls and rivers. However, there is a clear need for a structured project, designed from the inside out, that respects traditional ways of life and promotes community leadership. Adopting autoethnography as a methodological basis – that is, knowledge gained from direct contact with the Kadiwéu people and their daily reality – we sought to reflect on legal frameworks and territorial management instruments, with a view to discussing territorial planning and the viability of sustainable projects that contribute to strengthening the local economy, such as ethno-tourism.