Sacred Reciprocity Resources
Sacred Reciprocity
“Ayni” is a Quechua word from the Peruvian Andes, that means "today for you, tomorrow for me." It refers to the concept of mutuality in all human relationships, including humanity’s relationship with Mother Earth, Pachamama. Ayni points to the interconnectedness of all things, including the exchange of energy between humans, nature, and the universe.
Ayni may also refer to the exchange of energy between Plant Teachers and those who consume plant medicines for healing, wisdom and guidance. As sacred plant medicines heal us, and bring us towards wholeness, we turn our attention and energy towards healing humanity and the world, in gratitude and Sacred Reciprocity.
How We Practice Sacred Reciprocity at EntheoNation
Respect and responsibility towards sacred plant medicines and the indigenous peoples that have been their wisdom keepers is the cornerstone of everything we do at EntheoNation. We are not a nonprofit organization that receives individual donations, foundation and government grants to fund our operations. We are a for-profit publishing company with a commercial business model and commit to sacred reciprocity in the following ways:
- By Refraining from Sensationalist Media Tactics. We commit to providing deeply-researched information that provides a balanced perspective that integrates science, culture and spirituality. Psychedelics are not for everyone and we frown upon evangelists who use sensationalist tactics that overly promote benefits while minimizing risks (both physical and legal), in order to sell psychedelic products or experiences.
- By Elevating Indigenous Voices and Perspectives. The global conversation about psychedelics, including sacred plant medicines that are integral to indigeous cultural identity, is being drowned out by white voices. Where we can, we feature their voices and highlight their perspectives. This endeavor requires translation, video and audio production time and resources that we don’t always have – travel and translation expenses easily run into the hundreds if not thousands of dollars. If you wish to support us in this ongoing endeavor, you are invited to become an EntheoNation Patron on Patreon.
- By Donating to Organizations that Empower the Indigenous Movement. An integral part of preserving the last remaining pristine wilderness areas of the earth is to empower the indigenous people that are their stewards, people who are at the front lines of the environmental crisis. EntheoNation, being an ayahuasca-inspired venture, is focused on supporting organizations with initiatives in the Amazon. Currently, 5% of our profits go towards direct contributions to indigenous communities and nonprofit organizations.
Sacred Reciprocity Resources
At EntheoNation, we encourage those who have experienced profound transformation through sacred plant medicines to explore giving back to the Pachamama and becoming allies of the indigenous, ancestral stewards of plant medicine wisdom. Indigenous communities continue to face violence, persecution, and economic marginalization as they defend the last wilderness areas on Earth. They could use our help. Here are some resources to get started:
The Sacred Reciprocity School (Free Course)
Get Case Studies & Strategies that Empower You Become an Effective Ally to the Indigenous Movement
Do you feel deeply called to give back to the Amazon and indigenous communities? Here’s how you can get started.
Organizations You Can Support
While there are indeed many organizations that support the rainforest and indigenous peoples, below are organizations whose work EntheoNation has supported and continues to support over the years:
The Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) is a non-profit organization that works in partnership with indigenous people of tropical South America in conserving the biodiversity of the Amazon rainforest, as well as the culture and land of its indigenous people. ACT was formed in 1996 by ethnobotanist, Dr. Mark Plotkin, and Costa Rican conservationist, Liliana Madrigal. The organization is primarily active in the northwest, northeast, and southern regions of the Amazon.
ACT promotes indigenous rights to land tenure and management, as well as self-determination in governance and tradition for local communities of Amazonia. Since their founding, the organization has worked with over 50 indigenous groups. In their work, ACT pioneered a 'biocultural conservation model' which necessitates direct collaboration and consent with forest-dwelling communities. In addition to safeguarding the Amazon rainforest and protecting the biodiversity of the region, ACT works to protect indigenous medicinal traditions and related intellectual property rights of communities in South America.
Amazon Frontlines was born from the water project ClearWater: a collaboration between four indigenous nationalities and an international support team to provide indigenous families with access to clean water in a region impacted by industrial contamination and to empower indigenous community members in the process.
As the water project grew and health improved in the communities, the four nationalities saw the potential for collaboration to address a multitude of threats facing their rainforest territories, cultures, and way of life. The indigenous organization Ceibo Alliance was formed to address these issues. Amazon Frontlines is the organization committed to working alongside the Ceibo Alliance to support the nationalities' vision for cultural survival and rainforest conservation in the Ecuadorian Amazon.
Amazon Watch is a nonprofit organization founded in 1996 to protect the rainforest and advance the rights of indigenous peoples in the Amazon Basin. We partner with indigenous and environmental organizations in campaigns for human rights, corporate accountability and the preservation of the Amazon's ecological systems.
Its vision is to see a world that honors and values cultural and biological diversity and the critical contribution of tropical rainforests to the planet's life support system. They believe that indigenous self-determination is a critical component of any successful conservation strategy for the Amazon, and see that indigenous knowledge, cultures and traditional practices contribute greatly to sustainable and equitable stewardship of Mother Earth. They strive for a world in which governments, corporations and civil society respect the collective rights of indigenous peoples to free, prior and informed consent over any activity affecting their territories and resources. Amazon Watch is committed, in the spirit of partnership and mutual respect, to support indigenous allies in their efforts to protect life, land, and culture in accordance with their aspirations and needs, as well as the needs of future generations.
The Amazon Sacred Headwaters Initiative is building a shared vision among indigenous peoples, NGOs, the philanthropic community, social entrepreneurs and governments towards establishing a bi-national protected region – off-limits to industrial scale resource extraction, and governed in accordance with traditional indigenous principles of cooperation and harmony that foster a mutually enhancing human-Earth relationship.
The Initiative is led by Amazonian indigenous federations CONFENIAE (Ecuador), AIDESEP (Peru), ORPIO, and COICA, in partnership with Pachamama Alliance, Amazon Watch, Fundación Pachamama, and Stand.earth.
The Boa Foundation is a nonprofit organization that works in alliance with indigenous communities to preserve and protect sacred land, culture and ancient wisdom. They focus on indigenous-lead projects including strategic land buybacks, restoration of native ecosystems, reforestation, cultural exchange and sustainable living solutions. They believe that their social, ecological and spiritual crises present great opportunities for growth by collaborating with indigenous cultures to learn from their wisdom and experience.
The Boa Foundation supports communities that have profound understanding of the sciences of nature. Research shows that the best way to preserve land is by returning it to native indigenous communities. Communities that live and survive off their environments. Communities that work in harmony with their surrounding ecosystems to preserve and protect.
They also facilitate a variety of learning and exchange opportunities for their sponsors and participants in Europe, the USA and our Elders’ native Lands. The purpose of these learning experiences is for people to be educated on indigenous cultures by indigenous leaders and elders. They believe that wisdom held by the indigenous communities is essential to building a future worthy of the children, grandchildren and beyond.
ICEERS is an international non-profit organization dedicated to transforming society's relationship with psychedelic plants.
For thousands of years, indigenous and pre-industrial societies mastered special plant species, known for its psychoactive properties, through religious and ritual use, to address medical, psychological and social issues critical to social relations and survival. The importance and scope of these plant species for the human family, as tools for personal and social development, cannot be overstated. In response to the current social indigence, ICEERS works to answer the desperate cry for more dynamic and efficient solutions to public health with an integrative use of these.
Pachamama Alliance is a global community that offers people the chance to learn, connect, engage, travel and cherish life for the purpose of creating a sustainable future that works for all.
With roots deep in the Amazon rainforest, our programs integrate indigenous wisdom with modern knowledge to support personal, and collective, transformation that is the catalyst to bringing forth an environmentally sustainable, spiritually fulfilling, socially just human presence on this planet.
Their mission is to empower indigenous people of the Amazon rainforest to preserve their lands and culture and, using insights gained from that work, to educate and inspire individuals everywhere to bring forth a thriving, just and sustainable world.
Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969 that campaigns for the rights of indigenous and/or tribal peoples and uncontacted peoples.
The organisation's campaigns generally focus on tribal peoples' desires to keep their ancestral lands. Survival International calls these peoples "some of the most vulnerable on earth", and aims to eradicate what it calls "misconceptions" used to justify violations of human rights. It also aims to publicize the perceived risks that tribes face from the actions of corporations and governments. Survival International states that it aims to help foster tribal people's self-determination.
Join the Global Medicine Tribe
At EntheoNation, we are all about creating an awakened community, especially one that works with sacred plant medicines as a path of spiritual evolution.
We recently launched an online community of people who are healing, integrating and optimizing all aspects of their lives to be aligned with awakening to our true divine nature.
Working with expanded states of consciousness, we do rituals, set intentions, share our stories, and make magic in a private community with other plant medicine practitioners.
Join the Global Medicine Tribe
At EntheoNation, we are all about creating an awakened community, especially one that works with sacred plant medicines as a path of spiritual evolution.
We recently launched an online community of people who are healing, integrating and optimizing all aspects of their lives to be aligned with awakening to our true divine nature.
Working with expanded states of consciousness, we do rituals, set intentions, share our stories, and make magic in a private community with other plant medicine practitioners.