Member of the Council of Elders
Based in Ecuador. José María Gualinga Montalvo, originally from Sarayaku, is a charismatic leader of the Kichwa People of Sarayaku, an important member of the ICCA Consortium in the Ecuadorian Amazon. José has been Tayak Apu (president) of the Kichwa Indigenous People, several times member of the Advisory Team of the Governing Council of his people and is currently Coordinator of the Plan for the Strengthening of the Kawsak Sacha (Selva Viviente) Declaration. He was the leader and representative in Europe of the political promotion of the organisation of the Indigenous Peoples of Pastaza. He is the author of the Plan Sisa Ñambi (Camino de Flores o Frontera de Vida) and co-editor of the documentaries Sangre Negra, El Canto de la Flor. He participated in the creation of the Kindy Challwa (Canoe of Life) which currently is held in the Museum of Man in Paris, France. And he is the author of the proposal for the Declaration of Kawsak Sacha (Living Forest) which was approved by the Kichwa People of Sarayaku. In Montreal in 2018 – José himself presented the declaration to the General Assembly of the ICCA Consortium, which enthusiastically endorsed it. In the main video of the Consortium the opening words are delivered by José.
