Amazon Sacred Headwaters’ Post

💫 NEW EPISODE 💫 NEW EPISODE 💫 NEW EPISODE💫 In this episode of The Founder Spirit , we sit down with the trailblazing Atossa Soltani, Founder and Board President of Amazon Watch & executive at Amazon Sacred Headwaters, an alliance of 30 Indigenous tribes across Ecuador & Peru, working to permanent preserve 85 million acres (larger than the size of Italy) of the rainforest. 🌎💚 🌍 What to Expect: 💚Atossa’s transformative journey from the Iranian Revolution to leading global environmental advocacy. 💚Her pivotal “aha” moment with the Gaia Hypothesis and insights on reversing Amazon deforestation. 🚨🌳 💚The vital role of Indigenous Peoples in protecting the Amazon and lessons from their rich worldviews. 🛡️🌱 💚A call for a paradigm shift towards collective well-being and harmony with nature. 🌿🤝 How did Atossa Soltani become a leading voice in protecting the Amazon and its Indigenous communities? Tune in to find out! 🎧 Listen here: https://lnkd.in/dZbJ2Cn8 Spotify: https://lnkd.in/d8RNaWJ8 Apple Podcasts: https://lnkd.in/d2EPjQDx Your host, Jennifer Wu #FounderSpirit #AmazonWatch #ProtectOurPlanet #IndigenousWisdom #SustainableFuture

We’ve not heard from you for a while. How are you? Is everything ok? I got many messages and emails along these lines towards the end of 2023 / beginning of 2024. Friends, professional connections, colleagues outside academia who tried to get in touch with me heard nothing but crickets. In preparation for a trip of a lifetime, I took a large step back from social media. I didn’t monitor any of my accounts, didn’t check messages, didn’t post nor did I consume social media passively. I was off the thing, completely. Meeting this man, in London, last week was what prompted me to finally come out of my contemplative cocoon. Sharamentsa, a village of about 100 indigenous men, women, and children of the Achuar tribe, is as remote as it gets. It’s on the banks of the awe-inspiring Pastaza river, one of the major tributaries of the Amazon River in Ecuador, not far from the Peruvian border. The nearest town is about a 10-day walk away. That’s the place where I left a piece of my heart in January 2024, and that’s where Uyunkar Domingo Peas is from. Meeting him in London out of all places was a sign for me to break my contemplative silence and start sharing stories from this journey. Stories of the Achuar’s incredibly rich culture and language, their way of life inside the jungle, and why they seek connection and collaboration with the outside world. Stories on how our actions directly impact their lives and environment, and how everything is interconnected. Uyunkar, Achuar leader and president of Amazon Sacred Headwaters Alliance, unites 30 Ecuadorian and Peruvian tribes to safeguard 35 million hectares of rainforest and indigenous culture. Learning he'd be at London Climate Action Week, I put on my Sharamentsa regalia (necklace and earrings I bought from the local ladies) and headed to a venue in Notting Hill to meet him. An Achuar. Here in the concrete jungle! I recounted encounters with Sharamentsa's Sukut, Tee, Marco, Santa, and young Carmen, hosts who graciously shared their home, garden and food with us. Uyunkar responded: ‘Yes, that guy! Of course, I know them!’ It was surreal to talk about mutual acquaintances from such a remote place. Early June, I treated the audience of ILCA (International Language Coaching Association)'s third annual conference in Budapest to an exclusive storytelling session about this very journey, talking for the first time about my profound experience in the rainforest. It was really special. I've been planning to share some of these stories, but meeting Uyunkar in London — an Achuar leader from one of the most remote places on Earth — felt like a sign. In the coming weeks, I will share some of my personal insights from the Amazonian rainforest. Lessons on why indigenous wisdom matters for our modern world. On why we must share in the responsibility of protecting languages, cultures, communities and ecosystems of the planet we inhabit together. Maketé, Uyunkar, for inspiring me to share these stories. #LCAW24

It was so great to be part of the Extreme Hangout team last week during London Climate Action Week. We had some incredible speakers discussing hot topics including Baroness Scotland and the Amazon Sacred Headwaters panel. I particularly loved the discussion on conserving our wild spaces, where we heard from Merlin Hanbury-Tennison of Thousand Year Trust speak about how temperate rainforests used to cover 20% of the UK! We have since wiped out 99% of that, and this was definitely a wake-up call for me. It was a reminder that while the climate crisis and ecological destruction can feel like a million miles away, we have a lot of work to do here in the UK, and so much worth saving.