Abya Yala Fund [AYF] was created by and for Indigenous Peoples from Central and South America and Mexico. Abya Yala is a Kuna [Panama] word meaning Continent of Life which includes all of the Americas. Abya Yala has become a universal concept for Indigenous Peoples of Latin America and stands for unity and belonging.



Responding to the need for Indigenous Peoples to realize our own community development initiatives, indigenous leaders from throughout the Americas gathered in 1994, in Oakland, California, to create the Abya Yala Fund [AYF]. AYF is the first foundation to be founded and run by Indigenous Peoples from Central and South America and Mexico.



Abya Yala Fund emerged out of the historical indigenous responses to the problems confronting our communities. Indigenous leaders had long identified the urgent need for a permanent network to promote international understanding of and advocacy for issues of indigenous communities in the South, as well as to improve communications among these communities.