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.
Learn MorePermaculture
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.
Learn MoreHuman & 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.
Learn MoreGet Involved
Want to get updates from the Amazon rainforest?
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 UsLatest
- December 8, 2021
Diálogo de Saberes: revaluing ancestral knowledge
From December 3rd to 5th, we held our first Diálogo de Saberes (wisdom, or knowledge dialogue) at our Permaculture Center, situated in the lower Nanay River Basin outside of Iquitos. One of the biggest and most important events in the history of our Institute, this gathering brou...
- October 19, 2021
Chaikuni brings permaculture teacher Tierra Martínez for a new comprehensive water systems workshop
Tierra Martínez (Misiones, Argentina) will share with us his great experiences on aquatic production systems. The workshop will be from November 19 to 21. Martínez has 20 years of experience in permaculture and works in the creation of centers of reference in different climates, ...
- October 16, 2021
Kukama women urge the Peruvian State to declare the Marañon River as a legal person with rights
Chaikuni was at the press conference where a group of indigenous leaders presented a demand to a Peruvian court in order to declare the Marañón River as a subject of rights or legal entity. The legal claim will grant a special protection framework to the ecosystem on which indige...
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.