Runa Foundation

Runa Foundation is a public, non-profit organization with offices in Brooklyn, NY; Quito, Ecuador; Archidona, Ecuador; and Tarapoto, Peru. Runa Foundation's stated mission is to "create new value for tropical forests that benefit local people and the forest ecosystem".[1] Runa Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit corporation registered in the state of Rhode Island.

History

Runa Foundation was co-founded in 2010 by Tyler Gage, Dan MacCombie, and Eliot Logan-Hines.[2][3] Runa Foundation was created as the non-profit arm of the Runa Group which is a hybrid social enterprise consisting of both non-profit and for-profit arms.[4][5] Runa's innovative model is designed to create big impact through the creation of new supply chains,[6] while simultaneously assuring that these supply chains deliver tangible social and environmental benefits to local farmers and the forest.[7][8]

In 2013, actor Channing Tatum became a major supporter of Runa Foundation after a long adventure into the Ecuadorian Amazon to visit the Sapara people.[9][10]

Program areas

Landscapes Program - This program looks at the intersection between agriculture, forestry, and conservation using a holistic landscape approach. Runa Foundation focuses particularly on the use of agroforestry and sustainable forest management as tools to conserve biodiversity and natural ecosystems. This program also includes projects related to reforestation, wildlife management,[11] GIS mapping, territorial mapping, and assuring indigenous land rights.

Livelihoods Program - This program focuses on improving the livelihoods of local people through income generation, capacity building workshops, and financial literacy training.[12] This program specifically targets farmers associations or cooperatives to support them in Fair Trade certification.[13]

Plant Research - Runa Foundation works with indigenous groups in the Amazon to document and research their vast knowledge of medicinal plant uses.[14][15] Runa Foundation has also helped to support the creation of PlantMed.Org dedicated to the creation of Amazonian research clinics in the Peruvian and Ecuadorian Amazon.[16]

Funding

Runa Foundation is primarily funded from government grants, private foundations, and individual contributions. In 2014, Runa Foundation's total revenue was $978,000 USD.[17]

Funders of Runa Foundation include:

References

  1. ↑ "Runa Foundation's Mission". Runa Foundation Website.
  2. ↑ Wong, Curtis. "Eliot Logan-Hines Hopes To Save The Rainforest And ‘Go Beyond’ Fair Trade". Huffington Post.
  3. ↑ "Runa Foundation: Fair Trade and Agroforestry in the Amazon". Youth Movements.
  4. ↑ "Runa: Creating Value in the Amazon" (PDF). William Davidson Institute. University of Michigan.
  5. ↑ "How Runa is Empowering Ecuadorian Farmers". Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit. Hult International Business School.
  6. ↑ Imbaquingo, Olga (August 28, 2010). "El té de guayusa se exporta a EE.UU". El Comercio.
  7. ↑ Segran, Elizabeth. "How Two Liberal Arts Students Created A Million-Dollar, Rainforest-Saving Tea Company". Fast Company.
  8. ↑ "Runa Tea’s Low-Calorie, High-Impact Model: With revenues reaching $1M Runa is generating income for 2,000 farming families.". Next Billion. William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan.
  9. ↑ OLYA, GABRIELLE. "Channing Tatum on His Life-Changing Trip to the Ecuadorian Rain Forest and Why It Inspired Him to Give Back". people.com. People Magazine.
  10. ↑ "How Ecuadorians & the Runa Foundation Have Inspired Channing Tatum". LatinOne.
  11. ↑ Cummins, Ian. "Agouti on the wedding menu: Bushmeat harvest, consumption and trade in a post-frontier region of the Ecuadorian Amazon" (PDF). CIFOR.
  12. ↑ "The dream of a sustainable future for the Amazon". SIANI. Swedish International Agricultural Network Initiative.
  13. ↑ "RUNA AND THE KICHWA BRING FAIR TRADE CERTIFIED GUAYUSA TO THE WORLD". Fair Trade USA.
  14. ↑ Duenas, Juan; et al. (February 2016). "Amazonian Guayusa (Ilex guayusa Loes.): A Historical and Ethnobotanic Overview". Economic Botany. XX(X): 1-7.
  15. ↑ Gregoire, Carolyn. "Scientists Put Shamanic Medicine Under The Microscope". Huffington Post.
  16. ↑ Varolli, Regina. "An "Uber Ambitious" New Vision for Saving the Amazon". Huffington Post.
  17. ↑ "Non Profit Financial Profile". GuideStar.
  18. ↑ "Grants Awarded to Runa Foundation". MacArthur Foundation.
  19. ↑ "Profile: Tyler Gage". Mulago Foundation. Mulago Foundation.
  20. ↑ Coello, Patricio. "La Guayusa Trayectoria y Sentido". Forestal Sostenible Andina. IICA.
  21. ↑ "CAF promueve la producción de guayusa para el desarrollo local en la Amazonia ecuatoriana". CAF. June 8, 2011.
  22. ↑ "Community Action Grants". Rainforest Action Network.
  23. ↑ "Profile: Eliot Logan-Hines". Rufford Foundation. Rufford Foundation.
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