Pachamama Alliance

08/17/2026

Welcome to Field Notes from the Amazon, a new series exploring the remarkable plants, animals, people, and stories of the Amazon rainforest.

Today’s field note: the kapok tree.

Towering more than 200 feet above the forest floor, the kapok is one of the Amazon’s great giants. Its bark, leaves, flowers, and seed oil have been used in traditional medicine for generations, while its vast canopy provides habitat for countless forms of life.

For the Achuar and many Indigenous peoples of the Amazon, the kapok is revered as the Mother of Trees, a sacred relative and protector of the forest.

08/12/2026

Meet Carolina Hervas, founder of Bolis Sabor Nativo, an Amazonian venture turning native rainforest fruits into frozen treats while creating new markets for Kichwa farmers in Ecuador’s Pastaza Province.

Through PachaEmprende, Carolina received mentorship, training, technical assistance, and seed capital to strengthen her business and expand its reach. Today, she’s working toward a bigger vision: bringing the flavors of the Amazon to more people while supporting local livelihoods and the ecosystems that sustain them.

Read Carolina’s story and discover how entrepreneurship can help build a more regenerative Amazon:

Discover how Carolina Hervas is using native Amazonian fruits to build a sustainable business, support Kichwa farmers, and help conserve Ecuador’s rainforest.

08/10/2026

With our 30th Anniversary celebration coming up this fall, we’re putting our staff to the test to see how well they know our history! 👀

Meet Mary, our video producer who’s been part of the team for the past 19 years! 🎬

08/05/2026

We live in a culture that teaches us to look away from grief, suppress our anger, and distract ourselves from fear.

But what if these feelings aren't signs that something is wrong with us?
What if they're signs that we belong?

In The Work That Reconnects, Joanna Macy reminds us that our pain for the world isn't something to fix or escape—it's evidence of our profound love and interconnectedness with life itself.

When we allow ourselves to feel, our grief becomes compassion.
Our anger becomes our commitment to justice.
Our fear becomes courage.

And what once felt unbearable can become the very ground from which healing begins.

This is the second stage of the Spiral: Honoring Our Pain for the World.

Take five minutes today to sit with the reflection in the final slide. You may discover that your heart is carrying far more love than despair.

08/03/2026

Meet our Youth Engagement Coordinator, Elli Arzbaecher as we ask her what she prefers when connecting and spending time in nature! 💚🌲

07/29/2026

Meet Francisco Echeverría, founder of Sumak Amazonian Cosmetics.

Born and based in Ecuador’s Amazon region, Francisco built Sumak with a clear vision: to transform Amazonian biodiversity into high-quality natural skincare products while honoring the forest, the communities who steward it, and the ancestral knowledge that sustains it.

Through PachaEmprende, an entrepreneurship incubator led by Fundación Pachamama via the Regional Bioeconomy Hub, Francisco received mentorship, technical assistance, and strategic support to strengthen Sumak's business model and scale its impact.

This support helped the company professionalize its operations, refine its product line, and deepen its sustainability practices, including biodegradable packaging, natural cultivation methods, and partnerships with local and Indigenous communities across Napo and Pastaza.

Discover the story of Raíces del Napo as they bring macambo, an Amazonian superfood, to new markets while supporting Indigenous communities and biodiversity.

07/27/2026

07/22/2026

Welcome to our new series: Field Notes from the Amazon.

Today’s note: the jaguar.

Protect the jaguar, and you protect the entire web of life around it. Some things science is still catching up to. Indigenous communities have known them for generations.

Stay tuned for more Field Notes from the Amazon and let us know in the comments what you’d like to hear from us next!

07/19/2026

Today, July 19, we pause with love, gratitude, and grief to honor the one year anniversary of the passing of our beloved teacher, Joanna Macy.

Joanna was a visionary environmental activist, Buddhist scholar, deep ecologist, author, and the founder of the Work That Reconnects. Through her extraordinary life's work, she's helped thousands of people around the world transform despair into courage, awaken a deeper sense of belonging to the living Earth, and dedicate their lives to what she called The Great Turning - the transition from an industrial growth society to a life-sustaining civilization.

At the heart of The Work That Reconnects is the Spiral, an experiential journey that guides us through four interconnected stages:
• Grounding in Gratitude
• Honoring Our Pain for the World
• Seeing with New and Ancient Eyes
• Going Forth

Each stage offers practices that we can return to again and again as we deepen our relationship with ourselves, one another, and the more-than-human world.

In honor of Joanna's legacy, we will be sharing a four-part series over the coming weeks, exploring each stage of the Spiral through reflections, practices, and invitations for us to embody this transformative work in our own lives and communities.

Thank you, Joanna. Your wisdom continues to guide us.

07/13/2026

Thirty years ago, the Amazon called out to us, and we chose to listen. It wasn’t about rescuing anyone. It was about walking alongside the Achuar people, protecting a forest that breathes life into us all, and gently questioning the way we see our place in the world.

This calling belongs to all of us. Stand with the Earth. Stand with us. As we celebrate 30 years of this journey, we invite you to walk this path with us.