From June to September 2025, the Yaaku Language & Cultural Initiative, supported by ILED, launched its first phase to revive the Yaaku language and strengthen traditional ecological knowledge. ILED will fund the second phase and continue helping secure resources for the third.
The Yaaku Language and Culture Initiative is a new ILED partner, led by Juliana Loshiro. The Yaaku people of Mukogodo face a critical risk of cultural erosion, with the Yaakunte language nearly extinct and traditional ecological practices, such as indigenous beekeeping, declining due to modernization and environmental threats. Beekeeping, central to Yaaku identity, carries language, oral knowledge, and sustainable environmental practices. The program supported by ILED aims to integrate language revitalization with bee conservation by leveraging intergenerational knowledge-sharing, women and youth empowerment, and cultural documentation.
During this phase, the project:
- Introduced and reinforced Yaakunte vocabulary through workshops, storytelling, games, and tree planting, engaging youth, children, and elders.
- Transmitted traditional ecological knowledge via beekeeping training and forest visits, linking bee management to forest health and Indigenous practices.
- Preserved oral heritage through elder-led revival sessions and audio recordings, fostering mentorship across generations.
Women facilitators played a central role, leading mobilization, storytelling, and participant support, showcasing community leadership and capacity.
Challenges included logistical coordination in remote forest areas and balancing caregiving responsibilities, as well as limited resources for fully documenting women’s voices.
Read more about the Yaaku Language and Culture Initiative in this article published by the Guardian.
