Read our annual report and finances for 2018. Discover the inside story and the highlights from our three programs: Permaculture, Intercultural Education and Human & Nature Rights.
Letter from the Director
Earth Care, People Care, Fair Share: These three well known, simple, yet all-encompassing ethical Permaculture principles guide our work at the Chaikuni Institute. They are, however, not an invention by the Permaculture current, but found in many traditional and indigenous societies. They are also fundamental pillars of the Latin American indigenous understanding of “Buen Vivir” (good living), in all its diverse interpretations. For us at Chaikuni, they provide us with a solid compass of values and serve as inspiration for our daily work.
The year 2018 was a year of change, renovation, growth, achievements and learning for us at the Institute. We bid farewell to several dear colleagues off to new adventures, and welcomed in new, talented and dedicated Chaikunis. The everyday functioning of our multidisciplinary and multicultural team is a constant exercise of interculturality – an ideal that we promote throughout our programs. On an institutional level, we gained new and important donors and allies, as our overall budget, expenses and reach of our programs increased. Finally, together with our sister organization the Temple of the Way of Light, we embarked on an alignment journey, starting to revise and (re)define the “blueprint” of our Institute. Among others, we decided on a new and exciting formulation of our mission.
On a socio-political level, Peru was ravaged by one major corruption scandal after another. The tip of the iceberg of large corruption networks are slowly being revealed, with Peru´s (ex-) presidents and presidential candidates as the main protagonists. As we illustrated in our “Black Snake” publication, these corrupt networks extend well (and perhaps particularly) into extractive industries and pervert even the clean-up processes of oil spills.
In October, the latest report from the International Panel on Climate Change let the world know that we have just about twelve years to drastically cut our greenhouse gas emissions, if we are to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees and avoid the most catastrophic climate changes. Whereas Peru did pass a law on climate change in 2018, the Peruvian government continues to heavily promote investment in oil and gas, weakening environmental institutions and indigenous people´s rights.
We trust that our grassroots movement, with our network of local and global supporters, is contributing its part to the solutions we so urgently need. Advancing real, alternative and regenerative solutions for the protection of the Amazon and its peoples, starting from the ground on up, empowering people to lead the changes they themselves envision. I sincerely hope that this annual report, which gives a brief overview over our activities and achievements over the course of last year, inspires you. I invite you to continue to be a part of our movement, in 2019 and beyond.
With gratitude,
Stefan Kistler
Ejecutive Director
