News — 03 April, 2025

Community Mapping in the Andoke de Aduche Indigenous Reserve in the Colombian Amazon

Community mapping in Araracuara strengthens the territorial management of the Andoque people through the use of drones, OpenStreetMap, and GIS. The initiative combines ancestral knowledge and technology to document and protect their territory in the face of deforestation and climate change.

The Indigenous Andoque people, located in the Araracuara region of the Colombian Amazon, have managed their territories for centuries, guided by deeply rooted cultural principles. However, the growing impact of deforestation and climate change has compelled these communities to seek new strategies to delineate and protect their environment.

The Andoke de Aduche Indigenous Reserve, a legally recognized organization in the Colombian Amazon, plays a crucial role in this effort. Indigenous reserves are legally protected areas that allow Indigenous communities to preserve their culture, traditions, and way of life. Protecting these lands is vital to ensuring the survival and well-being of these peoples.

In this context, the community mapping project in Araracuara, developed in collaboration with the Andoke de Aduche Indigenous Reserve, aims to provide the community with technological tools that enable them to document and manage their territory autonomously. By combining ancestral knowledge with modern technologies, the project seeks to strengthen the local population’s capacity to face environmental and territorial challenges affecting their region.

Juan Melo, Senior Data Quality Associate, shares his experience working with the community, noting that the goal was not only to create maps, but also to empower local leaders to manage their resources and challenges more effectively.

Strengthening Open Mapping Capacities

The project was carried out over an intensive week of workshops and activities, from July 22 to 26. Throughout these days, participants received training in mapping and GIS tools, combining theoretical and practical sessions to maximize learning. The community mapping project in Araracuara began with a drone training session, where participants learned to capture aerial imagery of the town center. These images were uploaded to Open Aerial Map (OAM) for later use in remote mapping. This first day helped community leaders become familiar with drone technology and understand its value for territorial mapping.

On the second day, participants focused on using Mapillary, walking through the urban center with 360° cameras and mobile devices to capture geolocated ground imagery. In the afternoon, the QGIS introductory workshop began, teaching software installation and configuration, as well as geographic layer visualization. Participants also worked on analyzing alphanumeric data and querying vector layer attributes.

The third day included an introduction to OpenStreetMap (OSM) and the Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team (HOT), explaining their relevance in global mapping and humanitarian aid. In the afternoon, participants learned to use iD Editor and Tasking Manager for downloading and editing OSM data. A mapathon was held where they applied their knowledge to map buildings and roads in the five clans of the Andoque people, enriching the OSM database with local information.

The fourth day was dedicated to fieldwork. Participants used mobile apps like OsmAnd and OsmTracker to collect additional information around Araracuara’s town center. The focus was on ground mapping to expand the coverage of relevant geographic data for the community.

“I thought it was very important because we had never had the opportunity to work with these applications before. This experience allowed us to see things we hadn’t identified before, even on the maps. We learned how to locate points more precisely.”
— Marisol, leader of the Arriera Clan

Finally, on the last day of the activity, a workshop was held with students from Araracuara’s school, teaching them the basics of OSM and both remote and field mapping tools. In the afternoon, a session was held to address questions, consolidate learning, and discuss practical applications of the generated data to address territorial issues. The day concluded with complementary mapping and planning of future activities.

“I really enjoyed the workshop. We learned about different applications that play important roles within the same platform. OSM has helped us a lot in our work. For example, taking records with our phones, not just the one we used before. It also made it easier to upload information to the platform, where we marked important sites like streams and rivers.”
— Jonfred Andoque, leader of the Gavilán Clan

Making Territories Visible for Their Protection and Preservation

Historically, Indigenous peoples have experienced violations of their territorial rights, leading to a tendency to protect knowledge about their communities and territories. In the past, many communities believed the best way to preserve their lands was to keep them hidden from the outside world. However, this perception has gradually changed. Today, more and more communities recognize the value of mapping and making their territories visible as key tools for defending and preserving their cultural and territorial heritage.

Nonetheless, the tradition of keeping information about their territories reserved remains strong in some communities and among certain Indigenous members. Therefore, any initiative involving the generation of geographic data in Indigenous territories must be accompanied by an appropriate sensitization process. This process should focus on fostering greater understanding of the benefits that cartography and geospatial data can offer for the protection and management of Indigenous territories, while always respecting their practices and worldviews.

A key aspect of the project was ensuring that the mapping respected the autonomy and cultural sensitivities of the Andoque communities. Juancho emphasized that it was essential for participants to feel comfortable with the information being shared:

“It’s important for the community to decide what they want to show. My approach was to respect their pace and the information they deemed relevant to include on the map.”

The use of drones and mobile apps allowed communities to gain a new perspective on their territory. These technological tools were respectfully integrated with local knowledge, strengthening the sense of ownership and control over their own space.

“Through these activities we’re conducting in our community, within the reserve, we’ve received very valuable tools. They’ve allowed us to learn and also to teach young people how to use new technologies. Through OSM, we’re projecting maps of our territory and community.”
— Tania, leader of the Sol Clan

Local communities acquired new skills and tools to observe and manage their environment, aligned with their goals of environmental and cultural monitoring. The trained community leaders will be able to share this knowledge with other members of the community, expanding the project’s reach and sustainability.

The project in Araracuara shows that, with culturally relevant training and an approach sensitive to local needs, community mapping can be an effective tool for self-management and territorial defense.