Types of Dwellings and Spatial Distribution of the Indigenous Communities of Wayuu of the Guajira

Research reviews the poor conditions and formal regionalization of the territories (world bank 2009). This article is to determine the types of houses and spatial distribution of Wayuu indigenous communities of La Guajira, Colombia. The approach can be very useful for the purpose of spatial planning for sustainable development. A survey was carried out in the indigenous community taking a sample of the three zones of La Guajira. Area (a) north, a region of desert with population of 95% of Wayuu, area (b) is located in the center of the region and area (c) is located in the south of La Guajira framed by the foothills of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta (Corpoguajira 2012). It uses Google Earth and Geographic Information System (GIS) to determine the coordinate points throughout the region for the location of the scattered Wayuu indigenous communities in Guajira. The results obtained on the types of housing of the Wayuu community in the areas with the highest uses of traditional houses are the northern and central areas with 89% and 74% respectively, whilst the South zone obtained 61% of traditional houses, this is due to the fact that it is the least populated by the Wayuu.