CEDIA initiated its work supporting the Machiguenga people of the Urubamba river in their defense of their ancestral territory for the colonization in early 1980s. During that decade CEDIA supported tens of communities in the Urubamba river basin to obtain their land titles and together for the COMARU, their first representative organization their used as the right platform to defend their rights and fight for the conservation of their mountains and sacred places.
Almost four decades later, CEDIA is now present several regions of Peru, including Loreto, Ucayali, Cusco, Madre de Dios, Apurimac and Pasco. Supporting indigenous organizations and in close coordination with local and regional authorities in the frame of cooperation agreements for the benefit of local indigenous communities. Our work, organized in the five lines of action previously described, have had a great impact in the life of thousands of families and the protection of more than eight million acres.
With 38 years of successful work, CEDIA is leader in the strengthening of capacities of Amazonian populations, promoting the sustainable management of their heritage and supporting them in the places where the state fails.