Ngäbere (Guaymí) is a Chibchan language spoken in Panama. The initial work on the Ngäbere Living Dictionary was undertaken by Panamanian language activist and Jesuit priest Jorge F. Sarsaneda Del Cid in June 2014, during a digital skills workshop at K’ulb’il Yol Twitz Paxil (The Academy of Mayan Languages) in Guatemala City, Guatemala. The workshop was taught by Anna Luisa Daigneault, José "Chepe" Reginaldo Perez Vail and others. Mr. Sarsaneda del Cid uploaded 106 entries to the dictionary in 2014 and continued working on the dictionary offline in the years that followed. He has worked closely with Ngäbere communities since the 1960s and advocated for the documentation and revitalization of their language.

In 2021, a group of linguistics students from UC Berkeley led by Dr. Christine Beier added more content to the Ngäbere (Guaymí) Living Dictionary. This was done with permission from Jorge F. Sarsaneda Del Cid as well as the indigenous communities that he continues to work with.