News
Special Projects
In Peru, in the rural communities of Raqchi and Queromarca, ACT supported the seventh annual Watunakuy Gathering, which seeks to help preserve the ancestral natural knowledge of area indigenous and small farmer communities with an emphasis on promoting the diversity and variety of traditional seeds. 850 pilgrims attended from communities of Peru, Bolivia, and Argentina.…
Read MoreNortheast Amazon
In the northeast Amazon, Our work focuses on the following areas: Indigenous park guards Shamans and Apprentices program Traditional medicine clinics Youth education (ethnoeducation) Sustainable income generation Ethnographic mapping Many of our projects in Suriname date back to ACT’s founding in 1996. The program was founded on the ethnobotanical fieldwork of ACT President and co-founder,…
Read MoreNorthwest Amazon
In the northwest Amazon, our work focuses on the following areas: Protection of isolated indigenous group Intercultural education (known to the ACT team as ethnoeducation) Preservation of indigenous culture through associations of male and female healers Establishment of regional biocultural corridors Expansion of indigenous reserves Establishment of novel categories of protected areas that provide for…
Read MoreStrengthening Indigenous Culture
Shamans and Apprentices: Keeping traditional knowledge alive in the Amazon. For five tribes of the Colombian Amazon, ACT provides support for 96 traditional healers and their apprentices, allowing them to focus on the restoration of ancestral medicinal practices in their communities. In southern Suriname, ACT’s flagship “Shamans and Apprentices” program provides stipends and structured educational…
Read MoreIntegrated Healthcare
Traditional medicine clinics in Suriname. In the rainforests of southern Suriname, ACT has a longstanding program – carried out by tribal shamans and their apprentices in partnership with the principal primary care provider to the region – seeking the promotion of effective traditional medicine and its integration into the national healthcare model. To this end,…
Read MoreSustainable Development
Supporting food security within indigenous communities. Because indigenous groups are unable to conduct much if any conservation work if their livelihood needs are not met, ACT works with its partners to develop both sustainable traditional agriculture and income generation programs. For ACT’s indigenous partners, the “sustainable” part of “sustainable development” typically is second nature, but…
Read MoreIndigenous Land Protection
Launching of the first indigenous park guard training course in the northeast Amazon. ACT has instituted the first indigenous park guard training course in the northeast Amazon, a program that has the support and collaboration of the International Ranger Federation. ACT also has instituted a parallel course for government and NGO staff of northern Brazil;…
Read MoreIndigenous Land Management
Comprehensive, long-term sustainable management plans for the Suruí people. In the western Brazilian Amazon, ACT helped the Suruí people develop a comprehensive sustainable management plan for some of the most threatened forests in the Amazon.
Read MoreWomen's Programs
Supporting and empowering women healers. In Colombia, ACT supported the creation and continues to sponsor the operations of the first network of women shamans in the entire northwest Amazon. ACT built a dedicated center for their use that can accommodate 90 individuals for overnight stays.
Read MoreHealth
ACT designs programs specifically to support the health of our indigenous partners because the degree to which our partners enjoy good health determines the level of their ability to sustain themselves and to conserve their lands and culture. ACT’s healthcare promotion programs operate at two levels: we seek to provide access to healthcare in our…
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