SAIPE - Agricultural Service for Research and Economic Development

The Agricultural Service for Research and Economic Development – SAIPE is an association promoted by the Company of Jesus that since 1999 works for the sustainable development of the Awajún and Wampis indigenous communities of the Alto Marañon region in the Peruvian Amazon, within the scope of the Apostolic Vicariate San Francisco Javier (Jaén - Peru).

Father Carlos Diharce, a Jesuit priest of Cuban origin, since 1972 is in charge of the mission of Santa Maria de Nieva, in the Peruvian Amazon and has been the promoter of SAIPE. The association is specialized in promoting the sustainable management and conservation of natural resources, encouraging the participation of the Awajún and Wampis population, in particular of women, to ensure good living (Tajimat Pujut) through sustainable forest management. Tajimat Pujut is someone who is able to ensure the needs of the family, incorporates local knowledge and respect for cultural values with the use of new techniques and production strategies and promotes mutual help, solidarity and concern for the welfare of the community. Among other activities SAIPE has promoted the First Meeting of Awajún and Wampis Women of the Alto Marañon, an unprecedented space of exclusive dialogue for the women of those communities to identify common problems.

Dr. Jacques Mabit, founding president of the Takiwasi Center, had the chance to interview Father Carlos in July 2016. The interview has been the opportunity for an exchange of ideas on various topics. Father Carlos presented his opinion as a religious and his personal experience with ayahuasca and traditional medicines, as well as explaining how he shares the indigenous worldview in which there is no separation between the spiritual and material levels.

Interview with Father Carlos Diharce

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