Who is Omayra Casamá

Omayra Casamá is an indigenous Emberá leader whose life and work sit at the intersection of culture, community, and the future.

Born and raised in the territory of Ipetí Emberá, her story doesn't begin in institutions or titles, but in the everyday fabric of her community: in care, in the transmission of knowledge, and in a living relationship with the land. From there, she builds her leadership.

Unlike traditional, visible, hierarchical models of leadership, Omayra's is quiet but firm. It is a leadership exercised through constant action, through presence, and through responsibility to her people.
She has dedicated much of her life to strengthening the role of women within her community, recognizing that they hold a fundamental strength for cultural continuity and collective wellbeing.

Her work focuses on preserving Emberá traditions — crafts, ancestral medicine, knowledge of the land — not as static remnants of the past, but as living systems with value in the present. For Omayra, culture is not something to be kept in storage; it is something practiced, shared, and adapted without losing its essence.

At the same time, she clearly understands the contemporary challenges facing indigenous communities: lack of access to economic opportunities, forced migration, and the risk of losing identity among new generations. Faced with this, her approach is not to resist change, but to guide it.

She works to ensure that new opportunities — such as cultural tourism, the commercialization of crafts, or spaces for exchange — develop from within, respecting the community's rhythms and values.

Omayra is also a key figure in the collective processes now taking shape around initiatives like the Sara Omi Foundation, where her on-the-ground experience contributes an essential dimension: real connection with the community. She represents that bridge between strategic vision and everyday life.

Her presence is a reminder of something fundamental: that true development doesn't happen when external solutions are imposed, but when communities strengthen what they already are. In that sense, Omayra doesn't just preserve culture; she carries it forward.

More than a spokesperson, she is an active guardian of her people. And in a world that often pushes toward homogenization, her work clearly affirms that identity, when cared for and valued, becomes a deep source of strength and future.

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