Ayni, Regenerative Food Forest in the Amazon

Dear friends and supporters,

We started this year full of energy, grateful for the achievements we were able to accomplish last year, and now preparing for another year that promises to be full of growth. These last few months have been a time of much reflection for us, as we have been able to close some projects and start new ones.

A key area in which we've really been able to advance a lot recently is our Permaculture Center, which, you may remember, functions as a learning hub and demonstration site, of service to Amazonian communities and international visitors alike. Last year we were able to establish 3 new agroforestry plots, applying various techniques, demonstrating systems at different stages of development. Adding the recent plots to the 3 sites we already had, today we count 6 agroforestry demonstration sites at our Center, totaling 2.69 hectares.

Our agroforestry plots boast a large diversity of timber trees, fruit trees, as well as medicinal plants. In addition, we've installed and enhanced our vegetable garden around our main building. Finally, over the last months, we've developed and improved the monitoring system of our yields. We are excited to tell you that in January alone, our fields produced over 200 kilos of over 35 different species of plants!

Thanks to this abundance that nature provides us with, over the recent months, we further took some large steps with a project that long has been on our minds, but only recently is really taking off: the development and transformation of organic Chaikuni products. Under the leadership of our local expert, Teresa, in close teamwork with our long-term volunteer and resident, Mirjam, we've been experimenting with the transformation and development of different products, combining research with local knowledge. We currently sell more than 10 natural products, that go from organic foods, natural insect repellents to cosmetics, and more are in the making. These products not only allow us to generate additional funds for our activities, but also to demonstrate to local families how to transform and add value to their primary products, while at the same time revalorizing traditional knowledge from our Amazon region.

We are really excited about this and all that is yet to come. Stay tuned. Your support is really the strong backbone that lets us continue to do what we love to do, support local families, and do grassroot work to regenerate the Amazon.

Thank you for your continuous support to the Amazon rainforest and its peoples,

The Chaikuni Team