Hernando Chindoy
Hernando Chindoy is an indigenous leader from the pueblo Inga in Colombia and ex-governor of the Resguardo Indígena Inga de Aponte.
His work is focused, among other things, on the support and encouragement of traditional medicine and knowledge, as well as raising awareness of the interconnectedness between human lives and biodiversity. Along with this goes his legacy on manual eradication of illicit cultivars in the Inga territory, and his ongoing advocacy for a deeper and more open approach to the relationship between plants’ intelligence, indigenous autonomy, and legislation.
From 2017 to 2022, Hernando spearheaded the creation of the National Organization AWAI of the Inga Indigenous people in Colombia, during which time he also contributed to the creation of the Inga Panamazonic Biocultural Pluriversity AWAI.
Hernando Chindoy holds several recognitions for his labour as a social leader, among which stand out the Equator Prize 2015 (PNUD) for his work ‘Wuasikamas-El modelo del Pueblo Inga en Aponte‘, the title of Experto en Pueblos Indígenas, Derechos Humanos and Cooperación Internacional from the Universidad Carlos III, and a Ph.D. Honoris Causa from London University of the Arts.”
