Naturaleza, Inc., is a socially responsible global health and wellness, environmental stewardship and sustainable development 501(c)(3) not-for-profit entity. We provide ethnobotanical and
botanical, sustainable development, appropriate technologies, and traditional healing expertise in conjunction with conservation and environmental medicine efforts to effect positive change internationally.
Our diverse intellectual and cultural resources enable us to use modern day ecological, anthropological, and Geographic Information System (GIS) constructs to assist with the development of
community-based conservation endeavors that we pioneer in carrying out our mission statement of:
"to assist with the generation of fresh revenue streams for the continued preservation of our world's natural places and the deep cultural traditions therein."
Additionally, we are pioneering the concept of Biodiversity and Wellness™. You see, we believe that the health and well being of humanity is inextricably linked with the health and wellness of our world and that
"without environmental health there is no health!"
We at Naturaleza have formed our organization as a platform to create partnerships with the world's indigenous peoples in an effort to generate means to put freedom of resource back into the hands of
whom it belongs-these indigenous peoples. Those who we know want to live traditionally, simply and sustainably-an example from which we can, and should, learn.
Essentially, we generate these fresh-revenue streams by way of the development and assisted implementation of endeavors that are both indigenously and globally sustainable. Mainly, we work
side by side with our indigenous partners on initiatives of several varieties: organic and eco-friendly agricultural endeavors, mutually symbiotic educational interactions, marketing development for
cultural products, and global health and wellness issues including, traditional healing modalities (including medicinal plants as tools for sustainable development!), wilderness/international/travel
medicine, biodiversity/culture and wellness along with sustainable development and conservation venues-to move to once again become one with our world and promote global health and wellness!!
We operate with the support of two major multidisciplinary field stations and are fund-raising to build an unprecedented center for sustainable rainforest products management/center for
biodiversity and health and indigenously run environmental stewardship in remote Central America. We work in Belize, Guatemala and Peru, but our longest standing ties are in Belize.
Our organization is initiating programming internationally such that we will be able to build upon our efforts in southern Belize and fan our innovative models internationally. Essentially,
what we are working toward is an indigenously run/orchestrated conservation (of global wellness, culture and "biodiversity hotspots"/wilderness) driven 501(c)(3) umbrella for various sustainable
development/field station enterprises. Currently, our set-ups in Belize, Peru and Guatemala are of the magnitude sufficient to make some really innovative and interesting conservation models occur and they were all born in Belize.
For example, we are using our own innovative forest stewardship/sustainable development models using GIS and building on the Mesoamerican Biological Corridor Project data (a project born out of the
necessity to preserve our fragmented ecosystems of Mesoamerica such that we can ensure the appropriate genetic dispersion adequate to sustain diversity and life in the area) to map and delineate/categorize
areas of import for many different endeavors that will start to generate fresh revenue for dry and needy areas in a socially responsible fashion (herbals/phytomedicines, conservation walks/nature expeditions,
ecotravel, medicine trails, archeological ruins exploration, educational seminars, wilderness medicine, traditional medicine, tropical/jungle medicine, et cetera), organic/conservation friendly agricultural
endeavors, and just about anything else we can come up with. Of interest in these regards, is that as we all know the international focus on herbals/herbal medicine is a major draw on our natural resources-we
can use GIS and our innovative models to develop sustainable programming models to illustrate how sustainable harvest can be done responsibly. Also, we are using ecosystem delineation modeling to argue for the
appropriation of major rainforest reserves/preserves and satellite areas of import such that we can construct an elaborate network of precious and protected rainforest. We just hosted a major
planning/fundraising event in southern Belize for these projects and we remain hopeful of continued success.
Also, we are putting together several technological empowerment models, for example our organization has pledged resources, including hardware, software, and transportation/technical support
to regions in southern Belize, Guatemala and Peru such that we can pioneer an innovative model for the empowerment of the respective indigenous cultures through the use of computers and technology/internet.
These endeavors fit well with our GIS and organic farming/environmental stewardship educational modalities.
Another innovative feature of our company is the multidisciplinary composition of our board. We are a group of extremely adept individuals from all different walks of civil society. We have indigenous
peoples (including our executive director) representing over half of our board, we also have allopathic doctors, wilderness medicine doctors, anthropologists/archaeologists, holistic/alternative doctors
(dealing in healing from the earth/nature), ethnobotanists, conservationists, sustainable development and GIS experts, professional engineers, a botanist from Costa Rica who is world renowned for his knowledge
in tropical botany, and a pioneer/leading authority of alternative fuel sources/appropriate technologies.
Our board of directors is by necessity, essentially a think-tank for environmental and conservation medicine, traditional and alternative medicine, ethnobotany, conservation and ecology, and sustainable
development! So as you see, our organization has much to offer in the way of Global Health and Wellness™ internationally and as such our success directly benefits our precious Mother Earth and all of
her wonderful children-we are one big worldly family!
We must come together on these important issues such that we can lend an international helping hand and we at Naturaleza invite you to use our organization as a conduit to exert your global
positive change. Remember, our efforts would not be possible were it not for the fortuitous and generous few who take the time to support worthy charities such as ours!
Please feel free to peruse our website and pay special attention to our innovative features including our social responsibility sections and our multidisciplinary board of directors. We would like to know what
you think and look forward to your questions, comments, and support.
|
