FOREST-BASED LEARNING
in the
Amazon
Rainforest
A UNIQUE APPROACH TO THE EDUCATION OF INDIGENOUS CHILDREN
For the first time in Ecuador, the children of an indigenous community in the Amazon Rainforest have access to enriching, high-quality education without leaving their homes.
By securing a partnership with El Sauce School in Quito, the Kichwa community of Mushullakta is passing on to the next generation their ancestral wisdom, knowledge, and cosmovision - in their own native language.
This unprecedented approach offers the students a government-recognized diploma at the end of high school without denying them the opportunity to learn how to navigate the western world.
These are a few pictures of the first year of this experience:
This unique approach harnesses the power of technology and connectivity to bring forward ancient indigenous knowledge, sustainable forest management and regenerative agriculture techniques, and modern entrepreneurship skills that can potentially turn this rural community into an example of environmental, economic, and social wellbeing for their neighbors and other indigenous groups in Ecuador.
SUPPORT THIS SCHOOL WITH A MONTHLY SUBSCRIPTION
REVITALIZING EDUCATION
10$Every monthEMPOWERING EDUCATION
20$Every monthTRANSFORMATIVE EDUCATION
30$Every month
The money from these monthly plans goes to teachers and guides from the community itself, mentors who monitor students' progress especially in math, Spanish and English, and necessary supplies, equipment, and infrastructure.
WHY IS THIS PROJECT SO IMPORTANT?
The public education system in these rural communities promotes family separation and distress by forcing students to attend western-based schools in far-away cities. This not only results in the devaluing of their language, culture, and spirituality, but in the loss of knowledge of how to keep their forests alive for their own sustenance and for the survival of all life on earth.
Under typical circumstances, families have no other choice but to cut their trees down to make money, a situation that exacerbates the deforestation crisis in the Amazon Rainforest and destroys any hope of finding a sustainable way out of poverty.
This approach can really make a difference not only for the members of this community, but for all of us.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE IMPACT SO FAR?
Twelve children of this community are benefiting from the educational experiences provided in their village by their parents/teachers, external mentors, and volunteers who share their knowledge in areas like permaculture and agroforestry, biocosntruction, cultural identity, ancestral arts and cosmovision, entrepreneurship, and more.
By having access to the right infrastructure, technology and internet (provided by our partners at Terraformation), they connect to learning platforms such as RazKids and Aleks, both of which companies have given these children free access to their content.
With funds from our partners at the Gift Trust in New Zealand, two women of the community receive a compensation for being the school leaders who monitor and plan the daily experiences with the students. They receive training in leadership, pedagogy and soft skills, and are supported on a weekly basis by the Humans for Abundance team and El Sauce School staff.
The school has become a safe space for all the students to be free and express themselves in ways they have never been able to before in the public school system. With the guidance from the Fundación Pachaysana team, experts on using the creative arts and theater-based methodologies to dismantle oppressive systems and create social justice, some of them are discovering they love painting, dancing, and drawing, while others are understanding who they are as leaders and what their role is as change-makers in their community.
WHAT IS THE SCHOOL'S FOCUS?
The curriculum and experiences are based on the forest as their main source of information and inspiration, and their ancestral Kichwa culture and cosmovision as their base.
The mission of the project is to graduate students who know everything there is to know about their forest’s ecosystem, spirituality, cultural/ancestral value, history, environmental/climate importance, and income-generating potential so that they can create projects that are sustainable for their community and environment for many generations to come.
The families involved in the project decide what they want the students to learn by crafting an “indigenous student profile” which specifies what they want their children to know, do, and feel at the end of their schooling experience when they graduate.
For the first time in decades, the families can once again emphasize the transmission of indigenous culture and traditions to their young. This is one of the reasons why the curriculum has a strong focus on identity, ancestral traditions, and the arts/crafts as these things are a huge part of indigenous culture.
A few examples of the student's work:
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OPPORTUNITIES