The LEGACY FORUM mission is to protect the environment, provide cultural and historical education to the next generation, and uplift the status of women and girls. This is the first collaboration with the non-profit campaign #TOGETHERBAND and the UN Foundation, in support of the creation of a special edition band that will help benefit the Yawanawa tribe in the Amazon rainforest of Brazil.
The LEGACY FORUM is founded by Sonia Diop, a French philanthropist, and the daughter of a French European woman and a Senegalese father.
#TOGETHERBAND brings people into awareness about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through fashion, music, film, art, and creative culture; encouraging them to take action in support of a healthy future for our fragile planet. #TOGETHERBAND is partnering with the Yawanawá, an Indigenous Brazilian community living in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, to create a range of special edition bands made from açaí seeds, the natural bi-product from collecting the fruit to make juice for the community.
The first #TOGETHERBAND featuring all 17 UN Goal colors, the seeds of the Yawa Bands are hand-painted and woven together on Parley Ocean Plastic® thread, with a single seed cast from illegal firearm metal. The Yawa Band is an invitation to the world from Indigenous peoples, our true guardians of the natural world, to stand beside them and take action in support of the Goals. Only together can we achieve them.
KEY MESSAGES + TIPS
The #climatecrisis in the Amazon has reached a critical tipping point. For the first time, the Amazon is now emitting more CO2 than it is able to absorb due to forest fires, the majority set deliberately to clear land for beef and soy production.
The Brazilian government is also trying to pass a bill, PL 490/2007, which threatens to strip over 300 Indigenous communities of their existing land rights. If it passes, it would throw open their lands to exploitation, putting their very survival at risk. We, the international community, must raise our voices in solidarity with Indigenous peoples.
BOTTLETOP and #TOGETHERBAND are working with the Yawanawá community to set up and implement a workshop to provide training and sustainable, long-term employment. The partnership will help protect the community’s cultural heritage and artisan skills in creating sustainable products made from materials that are natural to the forest.
Empowering Indigenous communities to protect their natural ecosystems and biodiversity is fundamental for us all in the fight against climate change.
To protect the Earth is to protect humanity. The heritage and legacy of the Yawanawá peoples in Brazil are critical to understanding our own individual connection to the Earth. With #TOGETHERBAND, we are dedicating ourselves to support the Yawanawá and the urgent need to preserve their lands in the Amazon for them, and for the future of humanity.’
Sonia Diop, Founder, and President of the Legacy Forum.
The first #TOGETHERBAND Yawa Bands will be available to pre-order via Kickstarter DURING Climate Week New York, Global Goals Week, and the United Nations General Assembly.
By supporting the Yawanawá community and helping them achieve their goals, BOTTLETOP and #TOGETHERBAND hope to raise awareness of the struggles Indigenous communities are facing as well as galvanizing global support to stop bill PL 490/2007 from passing to protect them, the rainforest, and us all.
The #TOGETHERBAND Yawa Bands will be available to pre-order for £20/$25/R$120 THIS WEEK at https://togetherband.org/pages/yawanawa.