Naku Sapara Healing Center

Project start date: 1/1/2013

Naku Sapara Healing Center

Ecuador

Naku is a healing tourism project formed by several communities of the Sapara indigenous people in the South-Central Amazon in Ecuador.

Scaling

1-3 years

$400,000.00

Last update: October 05, 2023

Challenge

The Sapara are an ancient people, which have lived in the Amazon for millennia. They have developed an inseparable relationship with the land on which they live that directly defines their identity. Their knowledge of their environment through their culture was recognized by UNESCO in 2001 as intangible cultural heritage. Now, they are on the brink of disappearing. Between Ecuador and Peru, there are less than 600 Sapara left and only 5 of them still speak the Sapara language.

Description

The Sapara have chosen to respond to the many threats to their existence by creating a community enterprise to generate revenue to improve the lives of the Sapara people and support appropriate development in their communities. By opening their home to receive visitors from around the world, they hope to share their knowledge about how to live in balance with nature with others, demonstrate another way to generate revenue that doesn’t destroy the forest.

SDGs

GENDER EQUALITYDECENT WORK AND ECONOMIC GROWTHRESPONSIBLE CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTIONCLIMATE ACTIONLIFE ON LAND

Outcomes

Naku opened the doors to the Sapara culture to the world in 2013, as a sustainable communal effort that promotes well-being for Sapara communities, encouraging cultural revitalization in harmony with their sacred Amazon forests.