PACHA NISHI

In 2023, we began planning an ambitious initiative to regenerate degraded Amazonian ecosystems and cultivate sacred plant medicine in service to both community healing and planetary balance. Our home at Jakon Rate—like many hundreds of thousands of hectares in the Peruvian Amazon—has experienced clearing over the past century. Today, much of the land is dominated by dense bamboo and fast-growing underbrush with few tall canopy trees.

While the Jakon Rate community continues to live with the land—planting gardens, building trails, and stewarding regeneration—Pacha Nishi was born from a desire to accelerate that healing. We aim to restore diverse forest ecosystems, deepen the cultivation of sacred plant allies, and create lasting pathways for Shipibo-Konibo communities to thrive through forest stewardship and ancestral knowledge.

Creating economic opportunities for Shipibo-Konibo communities

“Our mission is to create a growing and sustainable source of traditional medicinal plants that provide opportunities for healing and living in balance with the planet. Our values are rooted in reciprocity with our mother earth (ronin mai) restoring healthy forests, supporting cultural resilience of indigenous lineage and the continuity of ancient healing practices.“

OUR PROCESS

Stage One: Cultivation Through Experimentation

Establishing experimental plots and a medicinal plant nursery

In early 2024, we launched our first test site—a carefully designed 50m x 50m experimental plot. Here, we planted and are monitoring over 400 native tree species and medicinal plants. After the success of this initial plot, additional plots and areas on the Jakon Rate land were planted with over 1000 new plants and trees. 

We’ve also established an on-site nursery to support future reforestation efforts and refine best practices for cultivating both fast-growing pioneers and slow-growing canopy hardwoods essential for long-term ecosystem regeneration

Stage Two: Building Our Home Base

Creating infrastructure for scaling up cultivation and community benefit

We’re now preparing a new 1-hectare site for planting in 2025. This expanded cultivation zone will become the operational heart of Pacha Nishi. With support from our community and partners, we’re building out critical infrastructure including:

• A processing and drying facility for medicinal plants

• Solar power and water systems to support energy and hydration needs sustainably

• An expanded tree nursery to support long-term growth and community distribution

This foundation allows us to scale cultivation while also providing local jobs and educational opportunities.

Stage Three: A Regenerative Model for the Region

Sharing knowledge and tools to restore Amazonian lands across Shipibo territory

Our long-term goal is to make Pacha Nishi a replicable blueprint for regenerative land management across the region. Through community-led research, academic partnerships, and transparent data-sharing, we will:

• Share outcomes and learning with other communities

• Train Shipibo-Konibo youth and land stewards in agroforestry and forest medicine cultivation

• Build a network of regenerative plots that nourish culture, ecology, and future generations

MORE THAN REFORESTATION

A cultural, ecological, and spiritual movement

Pacha Nishi is more than a reforestation project—it is a sacred offering of reciprocity. As we restore the forest, we simultaneously renew cultural lifeways, empower local communities with income and education, and preserve sacred knowledge through cross-cultural exchange.

Our partnership with Dr. Michael Coe and Tarleton State University allows Shipibo students to pursue academic study while staying rooted in their traditions—creating bridges between ancestral science and modern ecology.

Together with Jakon Rate and the communities that surround it, we are planting the future—rooted in the wisdom of the past, and blossoming toward balance.