In the Shuar language, Kakaram means: strong, brave, fearless, and powerful. To have energy, strength, and encouragement. Our purpose is the preservation and conservation of traditional Shuar plants as well as education, uses, and storage.
Plant gathering is essential for the subsistence economy of Shuar communities and plays an important role within their culture. These plants are used for food, construction material, physical and spiritual healing. Food security for the Shuar depends mainly on cultivation in the jungle and home gardens. Most forest plants also have a significant cultural and spiritual value in myths and rituals. Initial research documents indicate that he Shuar of the Ecuadorian Amazon utilize nearly 600 species of plants from their fields and forests.
Ancestral gardens
Our gardens are creating a space for learning about ancestral wisdom with a connection between people and nature while cultivating species that have been used by the Shuar people for a millennium. These plants have deep cultural and traditional meanings passed down through generations while also promoting sustainability and self-reliance.
Plants for health and healing
~ Sacred Plants Natem, Yaji, and Tsaank are used ceremonially to heal your mind, body, and spirit
~ Weis/Guayusa is a traditional energy drink that also purifies your body
~ Maikiua/Datura is used for muscle pain and mending fractured or broken bones
~ Ginger for cough, intestinal cramps, and Covid symptoms
~ Lemon Verbena for stomach ailments
~ Escancel/Aerva sanguinolenta is used for kidney, liver, and prostate disease as well as for flu, cold, cough and fever
Plants for sustenance
We have yucca/cassava, avocado, papaya, corn, squash, pineapple, lemons, cinnamon, and multiple varieties of bananas. Uwi/Chonta palm trees produce a starchy food that is also used to make a slightly fermented drink for an annual Shuar harvest festival called Uwi Namper. Papa Chinos are grown to sell at local markets and help raise funds for our projects.
Along with our gardens, we are actively reforesting acreage that was once used for cattle grazing (one of the top contributors to deforestation globally). We are also in the process of purchasing adjacent lots to plant even more trees and attract wildlife that will bring the naturally high level of biodiversity back to this area.
Long and short-term objectives
~ Find, rescue, and conserve, remaining traditional plants within Shuar territory
~ Plant on Shuar land, specifically at Natema Jee Cultural Center, using traditional methods
~ Harvest and preserve for current and future use
~ Create apprenticeship programs within the Shuar culture and with outsiders
~ Teach about preparing an area for planting, how and when to plant
~ Teach plant conservation and uses
~ Implementation of greenhouses and nurseries (seedbeds, nurseries)
~ Expansion of the project / acquisition of jungle territories for the conservation of natural species.
Help us preserve an ancient culture while protecting the lungs of the world
Contributions to our cultural and reforestation projects helps preserve the ancestral wisdom of local indigenous communities while also helping to regulate the global climate. If you would like to assist us in these efforts, tax-deductible donations can be made through the Indigenous & Ancestral Wisdom & Healing organization: Project – Nunkai Ethnobiological Foundation
Makete!