Living School of the Amazon: Food Forests for Indigenous Sovereignty
One of the world's largest Indigenous-led conservation initiatives, the Amazon Sacred Headwaters Alliance (ASHA) has unified 30 Indigenous nations of Ecuador and Peru, collectively advocating for the protection of 86 million acres of highly bioculturally diverse tropical rainforests – an area the size of Italy located in the headwaters of the Amazon Basin across the Napo, Pastaza, and Marañón River Basins. We seek to catalyze an ecological transition inspired by the Indigenous stewardship philosophy of Buen Vivir -- collective wellbeing and harmony with all life. To maintain the ecological integrity of the bioregion for future generations, we are working collectively to advance Indigenous rights and territorial governance, uphold the Rights of Nature, protect the remaining intact forests, and halt the expansion of extractive industries.
Project story
Our Mission
ASHA's regenerative activities include securing funding to support Indigenous-led food security initiatives, livelihood alternatives, forest monitoring, intercultural health and education programs, reforestation projects and the Living Amazon School (EVA). Additionally, we advance legal recognition of land claims covering 22 million acres of rainforests, while working to propose systemic solutions to incentivize forest protection and halt deforestation (canceling debt, wellbeing indicators, universal basic / intact forest income, bioeconomy hubs).
Our Approach
The greatest threats to the Amazon come from those who do not see the forest as family but as commodity — driving deforestation, extractive industry, and the erosion of Indigenous rights, cultures, and territories. Even within our Alliance, our monitoring, learning and evaluation systems across all programs need further development. In response, ASHA's Research and Learning working group was established in late 2022 to enhance our understanding of our Alliance's impact on the Amazon Sacred Headwaters bioregion.
The Living Amazon School (EVA) is at the heart of our long-term vision — a program of support and education designed to help the next generation of young Indigenous leaders in the Ecuadorian Amazon develop the technical skills and ancestral grounding needed to monitor, defend, and steward their territories for generations to come. EVA represents our deepest investment in cultural continuity and Indigenous-led conservation.
Our solutions span the full arc of community and territorial protection:
Food security: Bolstering food security for land stewards through reducing malnutrition, increasing food production through sustainable agroforestry, and community education on nutrition and sustainable practices
Living Amazon School (EVA): Technical assistance, training, and leadership development for the next generation of young Indigenous leaders in the Ecuadorian Amazon
Capacity building: Training Indigenous team members on advocacy, communications, and territorial coordination
Monitoring & evaluation: An adaptive ME&L system designed to carry out quantitative and qualitative evaluation of our interventions and measure impact towards our bioregional plan and systems change goals
Reporting & governance: Quarterly and annual reports produced by the Secretariat; Alliance-wide retreats held 1 to 2 times per year to review successes, failures, and set priorities
EVA metrics & reforestation dashboard: A novel framework tracking Indigenous youth leadership and technical skill development, alongside a dedicated dashboard of reforestation results
Project updates
Team
Donations (62)
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Living School of the Amazon: Food Forests for Indigenous Sovereignty
One of the world's largest Indigenous-led conservation initiatives, the Amazon Sacred Headwaters Alliance (ASHA) has unified 30 Indigenous nations of Ecuador and Peru, collectively advocating for the protection of 86 million acres of highly bioculturally diverse tropical rainforests – an area the size of Italy located in the headwaters of the Amazon Basin across the Napo, Pastaza, and Marañón River Basins. We seek to catalyze an ecological transition inspired by the Indigenous stewardship philosophy of Buen Vivir -- collective wellbeing and harmony with all life. To maintain the ecological integrity of the bioregion for future generations, we are working collectively to advance Indigenous rights and territorial governance, uphold the Rights of Nature, protect the remaining intact forests, and halt the expansion of extractive industries.
Project story
Our Mission
ASHA's regenerative activities include securing funding to support Indigenous-led food security initiatives, livelihood alternatives, forest monitoring, intercultural health and education programs, reforestation projects and the Living Amazon School (EVA). Additionally, we advance legal recognition of land claims covering 22 million acres of rainforests, while working to propose systemic solutions to incentivize forest protection and halt deforestation (canceling debt, wellbeing indicators, universal basic / intact forest income, bioeconomy hubs).
Our Approach
The greatest threats to the Amazon come from those who do not see the forest as family but as commodity — driving deforestation, extractive industry, and the erosion of Indigenous rights, cultures, and territories. Even within our Alliance, our monitoring, learning and evaluation systems across all programs need further development. In response, ASHA's Research and Learning working group was established in late 2022 to enhance our understanding of our Alliance's impact on the Amazon Sacred Headwaters bioregion.
The Living Amazon School (EVA) is at the heart of our long-term vision — a program of support and education designed to help the next generation of young Indigenous leaders in the Ecuadorian Amazon develop the technical skills and ancestral grounding needed to monitor, defend, and steward their territories for generations to come. EVA represents our deepest investment in cultural continuity and Indigenous-led conservation.
Our solutions span the full arc of community and territorial protection:
Food security: Bolstering food security for land stewards through reducing malnutrition, increasing food production through sustainable agroforestry, and community education on nutrition and sustainable practices
Living Amazon School (EVA): Technical assistance, training, and leadership development for the next generation of young Indigenous leaders in the Ecuadorian Amazon
Capacity building: Training Indigenous team members on advocacy, communications, and territorial coordination
Monitoring & evaluation: An adaptive ME&L system designed to carry out quantitative and qualitative evaluation of our interventions and measure impact towards our bioregional plan and systems change goals
Reporting & governance: Quarterly and annual reports produced by the Secretariat; Alliance-wide retreats held 1 to 2 times per year to review successes, failures, and set priorities
EVA metrics & reforestation dashboard: A novel framework tracking Indigenous youth leadership and technical skill development, alongside a dedicated dashboard of reforestation results
Project updates
Team
$8,311.55
Total funded by
Activity
Anonymous
$26.06
Anonymous
$1.10
Anonymous
$2.10
Location
Peru
Round 1
Apr 23 - May 7, 2024
This round provided funding support for regenerative land projects and was conducted on Gitcoin.
Matching funds provided by
