The Jakon Rate Center for Shipibo-Konibo Studies

The mission of our project Pacha Nishi (100 Linanas) is to create a growing and sustainable source of plants that provide opportunities for healing and living in balance with the planet. Our values are rooted in reciprocity with our mother earth, restoring healthy forests, supporting cultural resilience of ancestral lineage and the continuity of ancient healing practices.

In 2023 we began planning an ambitious new initiative that launched in January 2024. Like many hundreds of thousands of hectares in the Peruvian Amazon Basin, the land we steward at Jakon Rate has experienced clearing at some point in the past century and as a result, much of the forest consists of dense bamboo, heliconia, and other potentially invasive species of plants with few tall trees. As our community develops trails, establishes gardens, and lives with the land we see gradual changes to the ecosystem but our vision is to accelerate the regeneration of native diversity and cultivate the sacred medicines for a sustainable future, for the Jakon Rate community, for surrounding Shipibo-Konibo communities, and for the planet. 

We are driven to cultivate an abundance of high-quality, sustainable locally sourced, and affordable forestry products to serve personal and collective healing and to help ease the pressure on wild harvesting as demand for these sacred plants continues to grow. To achieve this at an optimal scale, it’s essential that we reforest and restore degraded jungle habitat and create economic opportunities for local and Indigenous residents, farmers, and landowners in the Peruvian rainforest.

Recent Planting in the Rainy Season

We have planted lianas on the 300+ existing companion trees throughout Jakon Rate community lands while creating an experimental plot with over 400 new trees planted. The project is utilizing our newly completed nursery, through a collaboration with Alianza Arkana, which is now providing an ideal space to to germinate seeds, propagate cuttings, and maintain a continued supply of teacher plants and companion trees. 

Establishing a tall canopy of native hardwood trees not only supports tall and healthy lianas but also, by creating shade and leaf litter, supports regeneration of healthy soil, numerous other smaller trees and plants, and will attract native animals. For these reasons, we initiated several experiments to learn more about optimal conditions for new tree and liana growth in degraded soil. 

There are 15 varieties of trees have been selected for a variety of reasons including their rapid growth rate, mature height, strength of the wood, and associated nitrogen fixers. We are also experimenting with growing beneficial linanas laterally along a horizontal stand of trees. 

Next Steps

While monitoring the continued growth of our secondary forests along with our experimental plots, we will test soil conditions, measure light conditions, monitor tree varieties, and measure water requirements to optimize growth and survival over the short and long term. We will also assess the impact on subsequent liana growth, survival, and reproduction under varied conditions such as orientation to the host tree, light availability, and soil conditions. Data will be collected regularly with comprehensive analyses done annually. 

Please write to colaboraciones@jakonrate.org for more information and if you have a desire to support or get involved with the Pacha Nishi project.