Runa Foundation

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Runa Foundation
Founded2010
TypeNon-profit organization
FocusConservation
Community Development
Indigenous People
Location
Area served
Amazon and Tropical Andes
Key people
Tyler Gage, Eliot Logan-Hines, Dan MacCombie
Revenue
US$833,134 (2016)
Websitehttp://www.runafoundation.org

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[edit]

Runa Foundation was co-founded in 2010 by Tyler Gage, Dan MacCombie, and Eliot Logan-Hines.[2][3][4] 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.[5][6] Runa's innovative model is designed to create big impact through the creation of new supply chains,[7] while simultaneously assuring that these supply chains deliver tangible social and environmental benefits[8][9] to local farmers and the forest.[10][11]

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.[12][13]

Program areas[edit]

Landscapes Program – This program looks at the intersection between agriculture, forestry, and conservation using a holistic landscape approach.[14] Runa Foundation focuses particularly on the use of agroforestry[15][16] and sustainable forest management as tools to conserve biodiversity and natural ecosystems. This program also includes projects related to reforestation, wildlife management,[17] GIS mapping, territorial mapping, and assuring indigenous land rights.

Livelihoods Program – This program focuses on improving the livelihoods of local people through income generation,[18] capacity building workshops, and financial literacy training.[19][20] This program specifically targets farmers associations or cooperatives to support them in Fair Trade certification.[21][22]

Plant Research – Runa Foundation works with indigenous groups in the Amazon to document and research their vast knowledge of medicinal plant uses.[23][24] 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.[25]

Education – Runa Foundation provides educational opportunities for future social entrepreneurs and environmental leaders through its internship program.[26] Runa Foundation has partnered with the Universidad San Francisco de Quito[27] and the Yale School of Forestry[28] to conduct ongoing research related to forest conservation and agroforestry management. In 2014, Runa Foundation established a research fellowship with Yale University's Tropical Resources Institute.[29]

Funding[edit]

Runa Foundation is primarily funded from government grants, private foundations, and individual contributions. In 2014, Runa Foundation's total revenue was US$978,000.[30]

Funders of Runa Foundation include:

References[edit]

  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. ^ Logan-Hines, Eliot. "Interview – Founding Runa". Start Up Grind. Google for Entrepreneurs.
  5. ^ "Runa: Creating Value in the Amazon" (PDF). William Davidson Institute. University of Michigan.
  6. ^ "How Runa is Empowering Ecuadorian Farmers". Triple Pundit: People, Planet, Profit. Hult International Business School.
  7. ^ Imbaquingo, Olga (August 28, 2010). "El té de guayusa se exporta a EE.UU". El Comercio.
  8. ^ Patterson, Britany (June 21, 2016). "Can Tea Help Save the Amazon?". Scientific American. Climate Wire (Conversations).
  9. ^ Logan-Hines, Eliot; et al. "Value chain innovation in the Amazon: Ilex guayusa as a new model for sustainable trade" (PDF). FAO. World Forestry Congress.
  10. ^ Segran, Elizabeth. "How Two Liberal Arts Students Created A Million-Dollar, Rainforest-Saving Tea Company". Fast Company.
  11. ^ "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.
  12. ^ 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.
  13. ^ "How Ecuadorians & the Runa Foundation Have Inspired Channing Tatum". LatinOne.
  14. ^ Duenas, Juan (November 2013). "RUNA GUAYUSA – DESARROLLO DE UN SISTEMA DE CULTIVO AGROFORESTAL DE Ilex guayusa Loes" (PDF). Primer Encuentro de Bosques, Recursos Geneticos Forestales, y Agroforesteria.
  15. ^ Montagnini, Florencia (2015). Sistemas Agroforestales: Funciones Productivas, Socioeconomicas, y Ambientales (PDF). Colombia/Costa Rica: CATIE. pp. 179–201.
  16. ^ Wei, Clarissa. "Inside the Food Forests of the Amazon Rainforest". VICE. VICE.
  17. ^ Cummins, Ian. "Agouti on the wedding menu: Bushmeat harvest, consumption and trade in a post-frontier region of the Ecuadorian Amazon" (PDF). CIFOR.
  18. ^ Weissmann, Emma. "Ecuador's "Superleaf" Tea: Could It Replace Your Afternoon Coffee?". National Geographic. National Geographic. Archived from the original on July 7, 2014.
  19. ^ "The dream of a sustainable future for the Amazon". SIANI. Swedish International Agricultural Network Initiative.
  20. ^ Pineiro, Aliana (November 2013). "Ilex Guayusa COMO MOTOR PARA EL DESARROLLO SOSTENIBLE EN LOS SISTEMAS AGROFORESTALES EN LA AMAZONÍA OCCIDENTAL" (PDF). Primero Encuentro de Bosques, Recursos Geneticos Forestales, y Agroforesteria.
  21. ^ "RUNA AND THE KICHWA BRING FAIR TRADE CERTIFIED GUAYUSA TO THE WORLD". Fair Trade USA.
  22. ^ Wood, Samantha (Spring 2013). "FAIR TRADE AND INDIGENOUS PEOPLES: A CASE STUDY OF THE KICHWA IN ECUADOR". Florida State University. Department of Social Sciences.
  23. ^ Duenas, Juan; et al. (February 2016). "Amazonian Guayusa (Ilex guayusa Loes.): A Historical and Ethnobotanic Overview". Economic Botany. 70: 85–91. doi:10.1007/s12231-016-9334-2. S2CID 18354079.
  24. ^ Gregoire, Carolyn. "Scientists Put Shamanic Medicine Under The Microscope". Huffington Post.
  25. ^ Varolli, Regina. "An "Uber Ambitious" New Vision for Saving the Amazon". Huffington Post.
  26. ^ Goldfine, Rebecca. "Michael Butler '17 Helps Develop Rainforest Products to Benefit Local Communities". Bowdoin. Bowdoin College.
  27. ^ "Taller Ilex guayusa" (PDF). USFQ. Universidad San Francisco de Quito.
  28. ^ "Yale in the Amazon". Global Forest Atlas. Yale University.
  29. ^ "Runa Foundation Fellowship". Yale University. Tropical Resources Institutie.
  30. ^ "Non Profit Financial Profile". GuideStar.
  31. ^ "Grants Awarded to Runa Foundation". MacArthur Foundation.
  32. ^ "Profile: Tyler Gage". Mulago Foundation. Mulago Foundation.
  33. ^ PRODEL, ACDI/VOCA (May 2011). "USAID Success Story" (PDF). {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  34. ^ Crespo, Patricio. "La Guayusa Trayectoria y Sentido".
  35. ^ Reinhardt, Sylvia. "Developing a production and sales strategy for guayusa". GIZ.
  36. ^ "CAF promueve la producción de guayusa para el desarrollo local en la Amazonia ecuatoriana". CAF. June 8, 2011.
  37. ^ "Community Action Grants". Rainforest Action Network.
  38. ^ "Profile: Eliot Logan-Hines". Rufford Foundation. Rufford Foundation.
  39. ^ Nourish International. "Runa Foundation Partnership". Nourish International.
  40. ^ "Amazonian Energy: Building climate resistance through diversified agriculture". IDB. Inter-American Development Bank.
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