In 2026, the Keepers of the Earth Fund (KOEF) celebrates its 10th cycle of direct support for Indigenous Peoples through their communities, governments, collectives, and networks.
Keepers of the Earth Fund is a Cultural Survival fund led by Indigenous Peoples and designed to strengthen advocacy and community development projects by Indigenous Peoples worldwide. Since 2017, we have awarded 506 grants in 42 countries totaling $3,232,000. The grants go directly to Indigenous communities, collectives, organizations, and traditional governments to support projects designed by them and aligned with their Indigenous values. Cultural Survival uses a rights-based approach, drawing on the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, in its grant-making strategies to support Indigenous-led solutions.
2026 marked our 10th funding cycle, during which we awarded 60 grants totaling $564,000 to projects in Indigenous communities, collectives, and governments across 19 countries. Of these grants, 17 went directly to Indigenous traditional governments and 9 to women's organizations. Additionally, 6 grants were awarded to Indigenous rights defenders in Kichwa, Tseltal, and Inga communities facing threats to their safety. The funds were used for transportation, food, medical care, and security measures.
The KOEF approach is holistic, and we strive to maintain long-term relationships with our partners. This year, we are supporting eight partners receiving grants for the third time, and 24 receiving grants for the second time, while also providing support through Cultural Survival's Advocacy, Communications, and Capacity Building programs.
Indigenous communities are taking concrete steps to ensure the continuation of their languages, memories, values, and natural and spiritual knowledge, which largely depend on intergenerational transmission and its use in the daily lives of these Peoples. In these projects, Indigenous Peoples work to strengthen their cultures, knowledge, and worldviews through educational programs primarily aimed at younger generations.
Near the waters of Lake Uros in Peru, a group of women keeps the essence of their culture alive by strengthening Indigenous education and the transmission of Traditional Knowledge in weaving, language, and wisdom through an intergenerational process.
The team proposes an intergenerational school led by women artisans, where auki (wise women) and master artisans will teach oqhala (children) and qorincho (young people) using the “learning by doing” methodology.
The members of /Xoa-//he came together to dream of a formal learning space that could reflect and sustain Ju/ꞌhoansi knowledge, language, and practices.
This project will create an Indigenous-led school and curriculum that integrates Ju/ꞌhoansi knowledge with western education. The school will be a place where children can learn without being separated from their culture, protecting their language and traditions while strengthening community identity and providing accessible cultural education within the community.
The Pijao People of this reserve in Tolima seek to strengthen the transmission of knowledge, collective identity, and cultural values, positioning new generations as guardians of their cultural and territorial memory.
Their project teaches children cultural and spiritual practices to help them become guardians of their territory.
The Kuechi Community Education collective, formed to support a community school that provides culturally appropriate education, previously received a KOEF grant.
This year, they plan to expand their youth activities through programs in agriculture, water stewardship, and culture, exposing youth to rituals, traditional games, arts, and music of the Rarámuri People. The project aims to provide a space of cultural, artistic, and spiritual expression to heal historical wounds and maintain Rarámuri culture.
This collective comprises narrators and communicators from central and southern Mexico who support a community-based approach to territorial defense.
In 2025, with the support of KOEF, they held La cochinilla, Kutsí, an audiovisual camp. In 2026, they look forward to hosting the camp again, aiming to achieve a broader geographic impact through a community-based open call. This non-academic program is focused on literary creation and animation production for young Indigenous language speakers.
Their main objective is to build capacity for audiovisual and literary content creation in Indigenous languages.
The AYIPN comprises Indigenous youth-led organizations and groups in Asia.
Their project aims to develop a Guidebook for Community Reality Mapping, a practical tool for Indigenous youth across the region to document, reflect on, and share knowledge about their cultures, social realities, and rights.
PINGOs Forum is a network of Indigenous pastoral and hunter-gatherer organizations.
The aim of the project is to improve women’s and youth participation in decision-making for the protection of Indigenous Peoples’ land and resources through culture revitalization. They also seek to improve intergenerational knowledge transmission among Indigenous communities.
