T-shirts for Sachawa Forest School in Ecuador

Get an original author's t-shirt and support the school of natural knowledge within the Czech-Ecuadorian rainforest reserve Life the old-fashioned way.

Proceeds from this project will be donated to the non-profit organization Život postaru for the development of the Sachawa Forest School and Nursery in the jungle of the Ecuadorian Amazon.

In recent years, the situation regarding education in Ecuador has changed. With the introduction of compulsory schooling from the age of 3, many Indian families are moving from the rainforest to the cities, and children are losing their natural contact with nature, which for generations has been the main source of traditional knowledge. Along with this, the indigenous way of life in the community related to the protection and care of the forest is disappearing. Children who grow up in cities and inherit their parents' forest land tend to sell it rather than preserve and protect it for future generations. But of course there are also many families who do not want to leave their jungle home for education, nor do they want their young children to go to the cities. That's why, in 2020, a meeting of Amazonian tribal elders was held, and in 2021, the non-profit organisation Zivot postaru launched a pilot project for a rainforest nursery and school that could help the community survive and preserve their traditional way of life.

The children, who meet only on weekends for now, are taught in the jungle around Ruku Samay (Galeras region in Napo province). The children learn about local plants, participate in the planting of endangered species and learn about the traditions and crafts of their ancestors.

The vision of Zivot postaru is to continue the traditional transmission of knowledge through experience, while combining it with a useful body of knowledge from the civilization circle, in accordance with the Ecuadorian legal framework and in collaboration with European schools, so that children are able to navigate and apply themselves in the contemporary world, while retaining the strong sense of belonging to nature developed by previous generations.

By preserving traditional Indian culture, knowledge and sustainable ways of life, we can make a significant contribution to the protection of the Amazon rainforest, one of the most important ecosystems on the planet. And children are our future.