page_title: Guna people
section_title: Economy
hierarchical_section_title: Guna people / Economy
caption_attribution_description: A dugout canoe being paddled by a Kuna local in the San Blas Islands, Panama. Picture by S/V Moonrise of Inverness.
context_page_description: The Guna, in the language itself spelled Kuna prior to a 2010 orthographic reform, are an Indigenous people of Panama and Colombia. The Congreso General de la Nación Gunadule since 2010 has promoted the spelling Guna. In the Guna language, they call themselves Dule or Tule, meaning "people", and the name of the language is Dulegaya, literally "people-mouth".
context_section_description: The economy of Guna Yala is based on agriculture, fishing and the manufacture of clothing with a long tradition of international trade. Plantains, coconuts, and fish form the core of the Guna diet, supplemented with imported foods, a few domestic animals, and wild game. Coconuts, called ogob [IPA: okˑɔβ] in the Guna language, and lobsters skungit (skuŋkˑit) are the most important export products. Migrant labor and the sale of molas provide other sources of income.
  The Guna have a long deep rooted history of mercantilism and a longstanding tradition of selling goods through family owned venues. Most imported goods originate from Colombian, Mexican or Chinese ships and are sold in small retail stores owned by Guna people. The Guna have not excised tax when trading goods and place strong emphasis on economic success. This tradition of trade and self-determination has been credited by many as a chief reason why the Guna have been able to successfully function independently compared to other indigenous groups.
  Guna communities in Panama City are typically made up of migrant laborers and small business owners, although many Guna also migrate to Panama City to sell fish and agricultural products produced by their respective communities. The sale of Mola and other forms of Guna art has become a large part of the Guna peoples economy in recent years and mola vendors can be found in most cities in Panama where they are marketed to both foreigners and Hispano Panamanians. Tourism is now an important part of the economy in the Carti region, and abandoned goods from the drug trade provide occasional windfalls.
caption: A Guna man, fishing in a hand-built dugout canoe.
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