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Esta photografia proporcionada por Zhigoneshi

Poporo sculpture in Valledupar, Colombia

Como para tener un plan B al muy sagrado pororo, la Guadua Encendida!

Since the Poporo is a very sacred object, we decided to do another version with a bamboo stick, following the same procedure, we ended up with a version of the flashight that is very easy to construct, the card with electronics fits very easy and stays put inside the bamboo. We made a handle made out another piece of bamboo and a nut. The leds were inserted into a round piece of and aluminum soda can which serves as a reflective material, with some tabs that serve to hold the aluminum in place when inserted in to the bamboo. The only part still missing is a protective transparent material to cover the leds, we are thinking of using a cheap amplifying lens.

At the moment we are also developing better ideas for the mechanics of the flashlights, as what we are using at the moment is an option too expensive within the Colombian context. Once we have developed the perfect flashlight prototype we will start giving workshops to the indigenous people on how to make their own poporo or bamboo flashlights, which is our final goal.

Zhigoneshi

La palabra Zhigoneshi significa en lo básico - ayudémonos - en idioma Kagaba (Kogui). - Pero tiene un significado mas elaborado que plantea que los mamos (sabedores) de la sierra nevada pueden ayudar a que el hermanito menor (los no indígenas) se hagan concientes de lo que hacen en su entorno que es perjudicial para la naturaleza y mas bien aprendan a respetarla y protegerla. Esta palabra fue mencionada en el ano 1985 cuando se hicieron las primeras cartillas en papel periódico donde los mamos hablaban de la mitología indígena acerca d los árboles, animales y todos los seres vivientes. Esta palabra Zhigoneshi se utilizo para abrir las puertas hacia a la rama de la comunicación. Después de veinte anos se realiza el sueno tan anhelado de tener un centro de comunicación, el cual lleva el nombre de Zhigoneshi.
Este centro esta integrado por tres de las etnias de ls Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Arahuaco, Kogui, Wiwa) . Trabajamos con revistas, fotografía y video. Contamos con camarógrafos, fotógrafos, escritores y sonidistas, todos indígenas de la Sierra. En este momento estamos realizando una serie televisiva llamada Palabras Mayores: que incluye 10 micro programas de siete minutos cada uno. Estos micro programas serán emitidos por Tele Caribe, un canal regional. Posteriormente se subirán los microprogramas al Internet. También estamos produciendo un documental largo metraje que esperamos terminar este ano.
La conformación del centro de comunicación Zhigoneshi tiene como fin mandar un mensaje al hermanito menor ( todos los no indígenas) desde el pensamiento ancestral y la autonomía indígena para que los hermanitos menores nos ayuden a cuidar la naturaleza y conservar la cultura de los pueblos indígenas.

El 21 de enero de 1.987 se estructuró y formalizó la Organizaciòn Indígena Gonawindúa Tayrona, organización conformada por los pueblos Kogi, Arhuaco,y Wiwa de la Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. La Organización Gonawindúa Tayrona es el único órgano y vocero de los pueblos Arhuaco (Wintukwa), Kogi (Kagaba) y Wiwa (Arzario) ubicados en su jurisdicción. Su representate legal es el Cabildo Gobernador Juan Mamatacan.

El objeto de instituir una instancia de representación hacia el mundo exterior, algo novedoso para la cultura, fue definida por las autoridades espirituales (los Mamos) concientes de la necesidad de entrar en relaciones formales y de mutuo respeto con el mundo exterior para mejor defender el territorio ancestral y salvaguardar la identidad cultural. Los Mamos que sembrarón espiritualmente y trazaron el camino de la Organización Gonawindúa Tayrona fueron: Mama Jacinto Zarabata, Mamo Santo Moscote Alberto, Mamo Filiberto Moscote, Mamo Bernardo Mamatacan, el lider Adalberto Villafañe, y Mamo Ramón Gil Barros.

El nombre Gonawindúa se refiere al pico más importante en la Sierra Nevada. En el momento de trasladarse el mundo espiritual al mundo material este pico fue lo primero que surgió para que estuviera recordándonos por siempre lo que nos toca aprender y hacer. Es como la parte ósea del cuerpo humano sin la cual nada podría sostenerse, ni tener movimiento, y así es el centro que armoniza y hace todo posible. Gonawindúa es donde se guarda y codifica la inteligencia, la sabiduría, la fuerza y el sentido de lo físico y material, y el sentido de nuestra responsabilidad.

El nombre Tayrona se refiere al Padre de la Naturaleza en el mundo espiritual y al origen de los pueblos de la Sierra Nevada. los Tayrona conformaban la gran civilización que habitaba la Sierra Nevada,hasta que la Conquista Española acabara con sus grandes ciudades y saqueara sus riquezas y sus objetos sagrados.

First example of a Poporo Luminoso.

For this first test we used a servo as a generator.

Poporo luminoso - Version 1 - How it was made

This is a hybrid between a commercial flashlight and the DIY example we used as a kickstart.  The Battery can be replaced for a large capacitor.

For constructing the Poporo Luminoso (luminous poporo) we looked a the way that a Chinese self recharging flashlights was made and searched the web for information which led us to this design http://dailydiy.com/2006/04/11/diy-windup-flashlight-from-a-servo/. This seemed like an easy option because it used a servo inverted as a generator,  so we decided to build our own adaptation of this design.
This was a very fast and practical way to do it, the relation with in the servo is about 14:1 one turn of hand for 14 turns of the motor, which generates a voltage of approximately 6 volts.

The rest of the electronics are very simple, the generator is attached to one accumulator that can be a big condenser or a lithium battery, with a diode blocking the electricity to go back to the motor and making it turn. A condenser to regulate the voltage, and a switch. The switch is connected to 3 white leds with a resistance to protect them.
Trying to fit this in to the calabasa (dry fruit shell) was another venture so we went to ask for help from our “DIY Sensei” - our neighbor Ruben for help. The calabasa holds the card with the electronics and the leds and switch are fixed to the calabasa outside.. a metal rod pops out through the upper opening of the calabasa so that the user of the poporo luminoso can turn the generator with a stick or the hand, charging it for a future use.

Why the Poporo luminoso?

The basic ideas is to solve a battery pollution problem within the Sierra Nevada which results from the use of flashlights and radios that work with disposable batteries. By making available workshops on how to make DIY fashlights that are manually rechargeable we will provide the locals with not only the possibility of making their own flashlights, but also with general introduction to the concept of do it yourself electronics and the development of electronic tools that are suited to ones own cultural context. This workshop will use this idea to demystify the elctrical world, and to construct from scratch a flashlight and generator using local elements like a piece of glass to make a Leyden bottle “a battery”, some magnets to make a generator an so on..

To make the Poporo luminoso or what ever nut available there is to do a perfect flashlight we have been doing some research, since reason is a western concept, we searched different options to do it in a reasonable way, that means spending the less energy possible to get to our goal = recycle what ever you can get or spend the less money available that you can.. In the sierra nevada there is not much electronic junk out there and with what we’ll find, we’ll be able to do a little few examples of our world renowned poporo luminoso..  So we also tried the lessens expensive way to be able to do more than 2 or 3 or five..

If in this Chinese factory a whole RC helicopter costs 10 bucks…   how much will it cost their geared motor without electronics??  That’s a motor worth like 20 cents + plus some plastic elements all ready in their catalog???   We’re waiting for their reply. But I think it’s cheap!!

So the idea behind all this is, that if we can provide our electronic demystified workshop participants with the same elements that they build with their own hands, but in their electronic micro realm,  they can adapt them to their choice of nut, wood, bamboo or what ever natural element  they will found suitable to do the job as a flashlight…  and we hope that this workshop will get to their understanding of the electrical world so that when they will need to replace the batteries for their radio, they will think in connecting the cables of their flashlights to light up the local indigenous news from their black and silver box.