Current Project
Ecuadorian Amazon
The Ecuadorian Amazon is nestled in the foothills of the Andes mountains. Fresh water springs that emerge in the Andean Paramo are the provenance of Amazon river tributaries. These headwater ecosystems are vital to sustaining life downriver in areas such as Colombia, Peru, and Brazil.
The Ecuadorian Amazon is also home to a variety of unique indigenous cultures, including two uncontacted tribes the Tagaeri and Taromenane. The rich cultural history and geographic diversity make this area of the Amazon rainforest exceptionally unique.
We are interested in purchasing and preserving a large portion of land in the Napo river basin within the Pastaza and Napo provinces. This area is a buffer zone between agricultural production and native territory. We hope to increase connectivity for wildlife by creating corridors between protected land and Kichwa and Waorani territory.
This area is rich in rainforest medicine and unique endemic plants. Part of our project would be an extensive native plant nursery. Many medicinal and hardwood trees such as Cascarilla (Cinchona officinalis) and Chuchuhuasu (Maytenus krukovii) are unsustainably harvested in the wild and their populations have been reduced dramatically. Our hope is to conserve native genetics while creating a sustainable source for valuable trees and plants of the region.