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Our Home and Reforestation Project in the Amazon

As awareness grows about the collapsing eco-systems here in the Amazon there are more of us living here who are trying to make a difference through buying land used once for destructive agriculture and cattle ranching and creating sanctuary for the forest and life to return. My name is Karla Cott, and I'm a Puerto Rican who fell in love with the healing power of nature here in the Amazon and now along with my Brazilian husband Jesse and our young son, Urayoán, we are doing what we can to return life to a piece of land that has been ravaged by irresponsible cattle ranching. Please consider donating to this project. This is an opportunity to make your money go a little further to help the forest right now! We don't have a bureaucracy. There are no supervisor salaries or lobbyists to pay. We are simply buying land and planting trees and medicine. We hope to grow and become an example for our neighbors of sustainable small-scale agro forestry. We want to create a sanctuary for not only life giving trees, but also medicines and foods which thrive in harmony with the rain forest. We will also take steps to support animals and other wildlife in the area. We have a manageable set of goals and a plan that could be repeated if successful. Please consider making a small donation today and stay connected to see our progress!                                                                                                                                             
OUR GOALS:                                                                                                                                                       1)AGROFORESTRY:  Agroforestry embraces an agro-ecological approach, emphasizing polycultures rather than focusing exclusively on monoculture, which depletes the soil. "These systems are dynamic, ecologically based, natural resource management systems that diversify and sustain production in order to increase social, economic and environmental benefits for land users at all scales." ("https://www.worldagroforestry.org/about/agroforestry") As part of our project of reforesting our land we will use agroforestry to populate the land with not just fruits, vegetables and grains, but Amazonian trees and medicinal plants such as the ingá tree, cocoa tree, dragons blood, angiroba tree, açai palm, zapota fruit tree, different types of bananas, biorana, apuruí, zamauma tree, birigiba tree, bacuri tree, patua, among many other species found in the rainforest. We are currently working with Francisco Ony Miranda de Araújo , an agroforestry expert, to acertain the soil fertility and map out the land with gps so we can plan the placement of the different cultures.                                                                                                                                        Photos of our land currently        Ony mapping land with gps                                  Our project has now been mapped in Google                                                                                                                  2) AGROFORESTRY AND SACRED PLANTS: We, the Cott- de Paula family, see it as our responsibility to not only use sacred plants to receive their healing and teachings, but also plant them, to help in their conservation. Of very widespread use among indigenous peoples of the Western Amazon, the ayahuasca drink is obtained by the cooking of two native plants of the tropical forest, the Jagube (banisteriopsis caapi) and Queen (psychotria viridis). It has entheogenic properties, that is, it produces an expansion of consciousness. The ritual use of ayahuasca has become virtually a trend throughout the world. But in order to produce all the sacred tea that is being demanded, a lot of plants are used, many times without replanting them. The ayahuasca vine itself needs to mature in the jungle between 5 and 10 years in order to be used in the concoction. Ayahuasca tourism is not sustainable, unless good practices are used to preserve these plants. As part of our agroforestry project we will include the Jagube and Queen as part of the plants grown in the property. Thus, visitors would come to our land to experience the plants themselves, how they grow and how to nourish them.                 
Chacruna plant                                                              Ayahuasca vine                                                              Jesse, Karla,  and Urayoán in belly in front of ayahuasca vine in the jungle                                                                                                                                                       3) KAMBO SANCTUARY: Our loving papãe (daddy) Jesse Nunes de Paula was raised deep in the jungle by the head of the river Moa. When he was 8 years old he was stricken with fevers and pain in his joints. Unable to go to a doctor he suffered for about 6 months, until he was administered the frog vaccine and recovered completely. The knowledge of this medicine was passed from his grandmother, a descendant of the Jaminawa Arara tribe of the river Bagé, down to his uncle and then Jesse and his siblings.                                                                                  The kambo frog, Phyllomedusa bicolor, is an Amazonian amphibian of the Phyllomedusidae Family, and is found in the forests of Brazil, the Guianas, Venezuela, Colombia, Peru, and Bolivia. It is one of the largest tree frogs of the Amazon. Popularly known as “Kambô”, “Kampô,” or “Kampu,” natives use the toxin secreted by the skin of this frog in traditional medicine.  It is used to increase the body’s natural ability to heal itself by eliminating toxins through the lymphatic system and fortifying the immune system. The frog poison is reported as being helpful for of a wide variety of ailments and can increase vitality in both body and mind. The only known real threats to this species of frog at the moment are the potential destruction of their habitat. The frogs do not produce their secretion when they are removed from their natural environment. Here in Acre there is great exploitation of this sacred animal for the use of its medicine. As part of our efforts we would like to build a frog sanctuary were people can come not just to use the frog's medicine, but learn from Jesse how they live and can be protected. The kambo frog already lives in our land. We would just be building a pond with banana trees planted around it, which is ideal for their proliferation. This would be ideal peaceful place for them to feed and reproduce.                                                                            Kambô frogs                                                                      Jesse passing Rapé with a kambo on his head                                                                                                                                                                                                   4)MEDICINE HOUSE: Currently our main source of income are the medicines that Jesse makes. He works mostly with rapé, which is a snuff made with tobacco mixed with tree ashes and/or medicinal plants. It clears sinuses of mucus and bacteria, thereby helping to combat colds and respiratory ailments. He also works with other plants such as the sananga, whose extract is good medicine for the eyes. By having our medicine house we would be able to use some of the plants in our land to produce medicines in a clean and organized environment. We can also hold workshops there for visitors, thus creating a space for learning about many of the jungle plants, how to grow them, their benefits and how to use them.                                                                            Medicine cooking house in the Flor da Jurema church in  Cruzeiro do Sul                      Tobacco leaves drying in the sun for making rapé                                                                                          Grinding tobacco in a mortar                                        Rapé  preparation                                                                                                                                                                           5) OUR HOME: We currently live in the center of town, far from our land. We cannot start planting until we are living there to take care of the crops. Also, our monthly rent and transportation - gas costs keeps depleting money from our project. As you can see in the pictures we have been working hard to finish our home, which includes enough room to accomodate some visitors. But it is not ready for us to move in yet.                                                              Our house as it currently stands                                                                                                                                    HOW WE WILL USE YOUR DONATIONS: Once we receive donations, these will be used to mainly purchase the materials for the agroforestry portion of the proposal.   We will need to build an irrigation system. We will purchase a 2,000 liter water box, as well as enough piping to spread the water throughout the land. October is the perfect time here in Acre to start planting. So we need to start very soon. Having an irrigation system is absolutely vital for this portion of the proposal. Your donation will help us build these basic elements for the agroforestry to commence in the land.                                                                                                                                    We want our land to be a model for what can be done to recuperate jungle land that has been degraded by cattle and agriculture. It will soon be our home, a place were visitors can come and experience what can be done here in Brasil to live in harmony with nature, instead of destroying it for profit. Thank you for taking your time to read our proposal. You are all welcome to come visit us and experience the development of our precious project. We hope that you will be interested in helping us out. Many blessings! The Cott - de Paula family.
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Donations 

  • Lauren Going
    • $100 
    • 4 yrs
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Organizer

Karla Cott
Organizer
Glen Arm, MD

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