Support Amazon Conservation & Regenerative Community in Peru

Donation protected

Hi, my name is Zach Palma, ecologist and permaculture fanatic. I am a member of El Arca, a community organization based in Tarapoto, Perú.

To be clear, this call for funds is not for me, my family, or personal ventures - this call for funding is for the rural community of Sinami Pampa, Peru. The non-profit organization El Arca will administer 100% of any funds gathered, but to be able to create a GoFundMe and collect funds outside of Peru (US & Europe) a US bank account was needed to house these funds. For those that may not directly know me, it may be hard to support monetarily with this two step process. For those that do know me, you likely know that I usually tend to shy away from asking for help, especially in the form of economic funding. Regardless, any type of support you can offer to this project is of enormous benefit.

Ok, enough about me and the bank details; we are very excited to start en initial phase to a quite ambitious project for a rural community in the high jungle of the Peruvian Amazon. The village of Sinami Pampa is comprised of 15 agricultural families (over 2,000 acres) who dedicate their livelihood to subsistence farming as well as the production of coffee, cacao, and in some cases cattle for economic income. The village is equipped with a 2 mile hiking/pack animal trail to get to the town center where the one-room town hall, elementary school, and soccer field are located. Sinami Pampa is located in a long narrow valley within the Cordillera Escalera, the final mountainous range before the flat Amazon Basin. The Cordillera Escalera is an protected area by the regional government of San Martin, that covers over 370,000 acres or natural reserve, about half of the entire mountain range. Sinami Pampa is located within the "buffer zone" of this protected area, nestled in the valley.

As many places that are developing quickly within the Amazon of South America; ecological degradation, habitat loss, and extractive community development are occurring at a rapid pace. Sinami Pampa is only located 20 miles up a windy jungle mountain road away from the city of Tarapoto, Peru. This region is known for its growing tourism and for the abundance of cultural and ecological wealth it has to offer. Yet as development rushes to grow, economic imbalances occur and the jungle and rural communities suffer. The department (state) of San Martin (where Sinami Pampa is located) has suffered a loss of over 1 million acres of primary tropical forest and a total of 1.7 million acres of total tree cover since 2001. Sinami Pampa specifically is impacted by deforestation for agricultural purposes (mostly cattle, secondly cacao), but the real worry is the readiness of local families to sell their entire land (in search of a more stable life) to anyone who is willing to buy. This means developers, who see the jungle's worth as cleared lots with little remaining habitat for the immense biodiversity. Our goal is to avoid further forest loss!

Our vision: We imagine the development of rural Sinami Pampa as a demonstration of community development elevating permaculture values in the Peruvian Amazon. This envisions the coexistence between a productive community that above all protects biodiversity at an integral level that identifies the same community success as ecological health and resiliency. We are working to develop community projects that directly lead to increased:

Local employment and workforce opportunity within the community
Biodiversity, habitat, and quality of natural resources - more degraded area returned to forest
Community identity, education, and value for the Cordillera Escalera.

What your support will do? Funds will be used strictly to augment the following community activities:

The construction of a community cabaña (jungle cabin) in the village square utilizing natural building techniques. The cabaña will be used for community activities to house volunteers, tourists participating in community-led recreation (bird watching, hiking, workshops, etc.), and workers to further advance community objectives. We hope to raise $3,500 for this.
The purchase guiding and biological inventory gear to be able to better understand the incredible biodiversity of the community and region and offer guided tours once community members are trained. Gear includes binoculares, guide books, trail cameras, etc. We hope to raise $1750 for this.
The improvement of community infrastructure projects directly leading to eco-tourism access and ease. Funds will be used for material and local paid labor for the creation and improvement of hiking trails, fencing, community mapping, camping platforms etc. We hope to raise $1,250 for this.