MISSION
Biodiversity Restoration and Food Security of Amazonian foothills communities.
Reciprocity for indigenous wisdom and medicines.
SUMMARY
The Amazonian foothills of Sibundoy, Colombia is a highly biodiverse Andean valley¹, home to the Putumayo River and the indigenous Kamëntsá people, who've stewarded 350+ native plant medicines over 3,000 years, including yagé (Ayahuasca)—which is increasingly studied and used in today’s global psychedelic movement.²
Only 3% of Sibundoy’s native ecosystem remains (forests, wetlands, semi-natural areas), most turned over to monoculture and livestock farming.³ Construction of an IIRSA international highway proposes clearing 12,000 hectares of forest, further threatening biodiversity and social structures of Amazon communities, living in constant danger of flooding and landslides. 79% of the local population live in poverty, burdened by the costs of synthetic industrial agriculture and the lack of education on indigenous food systems.⁴
OIOC (Organization for Indigenous Outreach & Conservation) is an indigenous-led non-profit in Sibundoy. On resguardos (Indigenous protected lands), we regenerate native species through ancestral and modern methods, preserve and cultivate native foods and natural medicines, and propose income-generating projects aligned with ecological and socio-cultural health.
After completing a smaller reforestation effort of 1700 trees, repairing homes for 24 families, and building a community temple, we're raising funds to scale our reforestation, ethnobotanical conservation, and sustainable livelihood projects for the next five years.
CURRENT CAMPAIGN
Biocultural Rebirth
5-Year Proposal to Restore Biodiversity in the Amazon foothills and Essential Food Needs in the Kamëntsá Indigenous Community
FUNDING GOALS
.png)
IMPACT
Environmental & social well-being
425,000
Seedlings Planted by Y5
Greenhouse supports 25,000 - 150,000 species annually, a first of its size and largest conservation capacity in the area.
Water & Climate Security
Reforesting 439 hectares (1035) acres over 5 years. Reforestation regulates carbon and hydrological cycles, and maintains aquifers for human, animal, and plant activities.
3,969
Indigenous Families
Directly benefitting through community workshops (cultural heritage, language, ecology), jobs, greenhouse and lab
4
Income Sources
Agroforestry and greenhouse products, carbon credits, and ethnobotanical extracts—aligned with ecology and culture, all accessible to the community.
SPONSORS OF PAST PROJECTS
Support OIOC's reforestation, ethnobotanical research, and indigenous support efforts in Sibundoy, Colombia.
We're raising $110,700 for our first year of biodiversity, food security, and greenhouse construction and $168,500 to construct a Research Center for Plant Medicine and a market-ready line of ethnobotanical medicinal extracts.
TEAM
.jpeg)
