As a part of the Murato and Aymara communities, I have had the opportunity to witness, first hand, the nightmare example of this narrative; the sacred waters of Lake Uru Uru have been poisoned with heavy metals and plastic contaminants, and my community sisters and brothers have been displaced due to climate change.

I have chosen to share a different narrative, one of both Ayni (reciprocity) and Pachamama (the Mother Earth).  Through my journey as a scientist and an Indigenous scholar, I have come to understand that these tragedies can also provide hope for many tacitly silenced voices. This is why I developed "The Mother (M)" product line, that refers to offer unconventional ways to achieve the interconnectedness with Mother Earth; this time: through The Mother (M) videogame.

The Story of Myself: A Choice for the Water

I was born by our Mama Q’ota, our mother lake. When I arrived at my choice point in my lifetime, it was clear that being a geologist would not alone address my concerns about social justice. I could see the data, but I could also feel the sorrow of our earth. You can count how many trees were cut down but not how many human, flora, and fauna stories were silenced forever. When our mother lake water turned dark, it also brought shadow to our fate. My desire to remedy this injustice compelled me to take action based on the Indigenous Andean cosmovision values, which I could not merely describe but also include all of you in a hopeful act.

The Story of Us: Mujeres Uru Team

We, as an organization, value sharing resources through the community and collectively keeping them. As usual, we can give statistics about us, but we prefer to connect through our story. The Mujeres Uru Team faced the issue of restoration in a united manner despite having to deal with the institutional barriers we have been presented with (lack of support from government or institutionals structures). Because of our commitment to work on the land through nature-based solutions established by Indigenous leaders, we have been able to witness the life of the water coming back to life, for example, witnessing the coming back of our siblings, the flamingos. What we have created as an "us" is based on the collective experience of protecting the things that are sacred to us all.

The Story of Now: Gaming for Decolonization

An additional challenge that we need to overcome is the "human-centric" perspective of our planet where nature is seen as bio-mechanical and doesn't possess any rights or agency in itself. My response to remedy this condition is through my concept, referred to as "The Mother." Unlike traditional board games, players will come together as one large unit to win at playing the game; they will only last and “live well” if they are able to recognize their co-dependence with nature. This tool provides a mechanism by which we will cede to one another that nature is alive and has her own voice as well.

Without enough action, the future will become a quiet broken place, but if we act together now we can create a "dream" future filled with balance and harmony from our present action.

The Hard Ask

I invite you to take part in this critical action, and not simply stand by as the environment passes away. I am asking you to support all voices, and begin to interact with the concept, a different way to connect with nature, of "The Mother" ("M") in order to examine your own mind set. Together, let us recover and reclaim the voice of the, our, Mother, now and here together.

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