Heart of the world, health of the earth

The Amazon Rainforest is crucial to life

The Amazon Rainforest is crucial to life on Earth; it contains over half of the planet's remaining rainforest habitat, holds 25% of the world's carbon, and produces one-fifth of the planet's freshwater. It is the world's premier bio-cultural diversity hotspot, home to scores of unique cultures, worldviews, languages, and countless species of flora and fauna.

By working across the three branches of Permaculture, Intercultural Education and Human & Nature Rights, the Chaikuni Institute advances a positivistic, solutions-oriented approach, and works to empower a life-affirming movement in the Amazon and beyond.

What We Do

Intercultural Education

Improved access to higher education

We believe in intercultural education as a means of creating an inclusive, diverse, and equitable society that honors and celebrates its constituent cultures and identities. We presently support and empower the indigenous student organization OEPIAP, which represents more than 12 ethnicities.

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Permaculture

Developing regenerative land use alternatives

Fusing indigenous wisdom and modern knowledge, we investigate and promote sustainable access to plant medicine, healthy food, and economic opportunities for local communities by creating an integral agriculture model within our Amazon permaculture center.

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Human & Nature Rights

Supporting The Amazonian Indigenous Movement

We are active in the Nature Rights movement that advocates for the recognition of indigenous territorial rights as the best path to protect the most important wilderness on Earth. We help amplify voices of the jungle by providing multimedia tools and investigative work.

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We work with plots of land used to cultivate food forests and medicinal plants known as “chacras integrales”; the traditional manifestation of Ayni, a South American indigenous concept that means reciprocity and communal support.

Get Involved

Join Us

Want to actively contribute to Chaikuni’s mission?

Translate a report, write an article, lead a fundraising event, or come to Iquitos for a field experience – there are many ways that you can support our work.

Work With Us

Latest

  • October 16, 2024

    Fires in the Amazon: Understanding What’s Happening

    News of fires raging across the Amazon has captured the world’s attention. Shocking images of thousands of hectares of rainforest consumed by flames have shed light on the fate of this irreplaceable ecosystem, which holds over half of the planet’s remaining tropical forests and pl...

  • June 20, 2024

    Celebrating 12 years of the Chaikuni Institute

    This year marks the 12th anniversary of the Chaikuni Institute, a milestone that fills us with pride and gratitude. Over the past twelve years, we have dedicated ourselves to honoring and preserving ancestral indigenous knowledge, working hand in hand with Amazonian communities to...

  • April 16, 2024

    Annual Report 2023

    2023 was a year of learning and consolidation for us and the families, indigenous students, women, leaders, friends, and like-minded organizations we are proud to collaborate with. Over the years, we have witnessed the growth of our community. It's heartening to see more indigeno...

Video Channel

The Permaculture Design Course

In the second half of May, 2019, we held our first ever Permaculture Design Course (PDC) at our permaculture centre. A multicultural group of indigenous Shipibo herbalists, local farmers from neighbouring communities, indigenous students from the Achuar and Awajun peoples, Chaikuni staff and friends from the Temple of the Way of Light came together for 10 inspiring days to learn the basics of permaculture, share their own knowledge, and learn about "chacras integrales". The course was masterfully guided by Tierra Martinez and Beatriz Ramirez from the Na’Lu’um Permaculture Institute, both of them bringing a world of knowledge from a life dedicated to permaculture to the Chaikuni Institute and the participants.

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