December 2009

My time in South America and the forest has seen many developments and its great to have a moment to reflect. This October and November has seen good progress on the Treesource land and Sanctuary. We initiated and completed our largest planting program to date. 250 kgs of medicinal plants/vine and 120 saplings (75 hard woods and 45 fruit trees) were planted during our stay. Sustainable technology in the form of a solar lighting system was installed in the main communal building and kitchen area of the sanctuary.

We also distributed Led Headlights, rechargeable batteries with personal solar battery chargers, and high quality rain ponchos to the Sanctuary caretakers.

Part of the Treesource mission is to support eco/sustainable tourism. This year we had seven participants join us in the forest for our shamanic training program. Much credit must be given to these friends who not only completed the program but also worked exceptionally hard to support the cooking process, the tree and medicinal replanting program and general sanctuary development. Without their help and your donations such great results could never have been accomplished.

On many levels this visit also marked the end of an era, most poignantly with the passing over of Pablo Amaringo on the day I left Amazonas. Don Pablo was a visionary painter, a good friend and Treesource patron. There are few people who can claim such dedication to furthering the cause of sustainability in Amazonas.

Not only was his message carried through his paintings and his school of artists, but also through his work speaking around the globes as a UN Global 500 Peace Prize Winner. For those of you who have not already seen, Don Pablo wrote a beautiful endorsement for our Treesource Foundation last May. Read his comments here. He will be greatly missed and lives on through his paintings, his students and in our hearts. Thank you Don Pablo we love and miss you.


Every time I visit the forest I feel an evolution in what I do there both personally and collectively. This time was no exception and I left with a real sense of achievement, seeing and feeling the last few years of hard work starting to really pay dividends. It has also been great to feel the support of friends as more people start to share the vision and the work at hand. The plantations are growing well, the sanctuary developing nicely and we are even starting to harvest and eat fruit (papayas and pineapples) that were planted in earlier years.

The other side of the coin is that there seems to be no let up in the rates of deforestation and agrarian decline if anything an acceleration.

In between May and September fifty hectares adjoining our land has been slashed and burned for crop cultivation and cattle ranching, a stark reminder of what we're up against. The villages I visit on harvesting missions have thinned out more this year, possibly as the credit crunch, in tandem with the pressures of free market economics force even more people to migrate to the cities for work.

With the Copenhagen global climate change conference fresh in everyone’s minds it is patently obvious that it would be unwise to rely solely on our current political system to deliver on our transition to a sustainable economy. I feel it has never been more apparent than now for us as individuals to take the initiative and responsibility.

Thank you for your continued support and generosity, and for choosing sustainability through the Treesource Foundation.

May 2009 – finacial support for santuario general upkeep

May 2009 – planted: 150 kgs ayahuasca

January 2009 – planted: 30 coconut, 20 mango, 10 noni, 10 cacao, 10 avacado trees planted

October 2008 – financial support for new roof to maloca at santuario, composting system implemented – 200kgs ayahuasca planted on treesource land. 3rd compost loo completed

May 2008 – 150kgs ayahuasca and 20 chacruna plants

January 2008 – planted on treesource land: 10 coconut, 5 avocado, 5 noni, 2 almond, 3 camu camu & 30 mixed medicinal plants/trees/maderas

December 2007 – 5yr constancia de possession issued for treesource land

November 2007 – gps survey of land for title papers

November 2007 – planted on treesource land: 20kgs ayahuasca

November 2007 – first compost toilet at the sanctuary

October 2007 – 200 acres of forest secured (rights of possession purchased) and management/caretaking plan implemented

May 2007 – planted on santuario land: 30 kgs ayahuasca on santuario land, 10 coconut, 10 pinapple, financial support for title papers for santuario

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