LEGACY FORUM PARTNERS WITH TOGETHERBAND
(L-R) Yawa band in Natural, Multicolored & Black
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. Our first collaboration is 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 colours, 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.
As highlighted in the recent IPCC report, it is now unequivocal that human-caused emissions, such as the burning of fossil fuels and cutting down trees, are responsible for recent global heating. The crisis 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.
Our precious forest is under great threat. It is burning. We protect the forest and she protects us. We live in harmony. The forest provides us with medicine. With shelter. With sacred knowledge. And with a livelihood. A healthy forest is vital not just for us. But for the healthy future of all humankind. For our children and their children. The açaí fruit is very special to our people. We use the seeds to make jewelry. We are partnering with #TOGETHERBAND to create the Yawa Band as a symbol of hope for the future of the forest and our community. With this band, we can preserve the cultural heritage and craft of our community. And provide a livelihood for our people. Help us protect mother nature. Help us protect our home.’ Tashka Yawanawá, Chief of the Yawanawá
‘Indigenous communities have lived in harmony with the planet for centuries. They are nature’s guardians and yet continually face issues from outsiders who threaten their very existence. I was privileged enough to spend time with the Yawanawá community in Brazil and saw first-hand how they care for and protect the rainforest, but they need our support to help protect their land which is currently at risk of being taken from them. This partnership will not only enable the community to thrive and achieve their goals but will allow them to protect the lungs of the planet.’ Cameron Saul, Co-Creator of #TOGETHERBAND.
The first #TOGETHERBAND Yawa Bands will be available to pre-order via Kickstarter on September 20th, in line with 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 from September 20th at togetherband.org/yawa.
ABOUT #TOGETHERBAND
The #TOGETHERBAND campaign was launched on Earth Day 2019 by sustainable accessories brand BOTTLETOP in partnership with the UN Foundation and UBS. It uses creativity and culture to raise public awareness of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and inspire action to achieve them. The campaign has created a global community of active citizens with a reach of 6.6 billion, connected through sustainable fashion, contemporary art, music, and documentary film. Ambassadors range from David Beckham and Naomi Campbell to Halima Aden, Lewis Hamilton, and Jameela Jamil. Every #TOGETHERBAND is made from reclaimed Parley Ocean Plastic®, decommissioned firearm metal, and is handcrafted by artisans in Nepal, creating skills and livelihoods for local women.
ABOUT BOTTLETOP
BOTTLETOP is a luxury, sustainable accessories brand that began in 2002 through a handbag design collaboration with iconic British fashion house Mulberry, supporting artisans in Africa and local health education projects. With the BOTTLETOP atelier in Brazil and workshops in Nepal, the brand continues to provide skills and livelihoods for artisans in disadvantaged parts of the world.
BOTTLETOP is also a technical innovator; working to develop and apply the most innovative waste and sustainably sourced materials to its collection, including upcycled metal, marine plastic, Humanium metal (recycled decommissioned firearms), Zero Deforestation Leather and wild rubber. In November 2017 BOTTLETOP opened on Regent Street with the first-ever 3D printed store created from waste plastic.
ABOUT THE YAWANAWÁ COMMUNITY
The Yawanawá, known as the people of the Wild Boar, are an Indigenous community from the State of Acre, Brazil. They live in harmony with their surroundings due to their centuries-old observation and interaction with nature, subsistence economy, and spiritual connection to lands and territories. They ensure the balance of the Amazon rainforest, so it may continue to provide water, fertile soil, food, shelter, and medicine.
For hundreds of years, they have survived outsiders stealing their land and resources, being enslaved, and having their traditional customs and livelihoods taken away from them. Their ancestral land was finally delineated in the 1980s by the Brazilian government which legally marked out their territory. Their threats, however, are far from over with the introduction of bill PL 490/2007.
ABOUT THE LEGACY FORUM
The LEGACY FORUM is founded by Sonia Diop, a French philanthropist, and the daughter of a French European woman and a Senegalese father. The LEGACY FORUM seeks to protect the environment, support education for children, and improve the status of women. The LEGACY FORUM brings together the guardians of our environment with historians, scientists, and cultural leaders through reportage and thought-provoking art installations that call humanity to action. The Legacy Forum supports humanitarian, educational, and projects that ensure endangered communities have sustainable, ethical supply chains with local cooperatives and ateliers to ensure the preservation of their heritage and conscience.
Beginning in 2022, the LEGACY FORUM will convene in Paris and Geneva, followed by Washington, DC in 2023, with annual events to follow in nations most affected by the climate crisis and where children and women are at risk. Humanity is at a crossroads. Legacy Forum convenes at the intersection of our collective past to ensure a healthier, freer, future for all peoples.
NOTES TO EDITORS
INDIGENOUS PEOPLES FACTS
Indigenous peoples makeup 5% of the global population and account for 15% of the extreme poor. (Source)
Indigenous people safeguard 80% of the world’s remaining biodiversity and hold vital ancestral knowledge on how to adapt, mitigate and reduce climate and disaster risks (Source)
Indigenous peoples are often marginalized and face discrimination in countries’ legal systems, leaving them even more vulnerable to violence and abuse. (Source)
Indigenous peoples are inheritors and practitioners of unique cultures and ways of living. Nearly 70 million depend on forests for their livelihoods, and many more are farmers, hunter-gatherers, or pastoralists. (Source)
Indigenous communities’ contribution to fighting climate change is far greater than previously thought. Their forestlands store at least one-quarter of all above-ground tropical forest carbon – about 55 trillion metric tonnes. This is equivalent to four times the total global carbon emissions in 2014 (Source)