About the project

In the Kichwa language, Ruku Samay means not only “the old way of life” but also “ancient wisdom”. The yachak and healer Agustin Humberto Grefa founded a homestead in the heart of the Amazon rainforest, run by the large indigenous Grefa family. The family has extensive experience with ecotourism and also practises shamanic healing according to traditions passed down from generation to generation since time immemorial. We came to know this beautiful family and their story through Míša and Agustin, whose love built a bridge between Czechia and the distant Amazon. When they described the problems the Ecuadorian Amazon faces, we decided to help as much as we can.

It all began when one of the neighbours near Ruku Samay decided to sell a plot of about 40 ha. This land was strategically important for a large part of the rainforest because of its location and size. It lies on a river that flows on through the Ruku Samay settlement and several other indigenous communities. The local people depend on this river for their lives. Its pollution, if the land were bought by a mining company, would have tragic consequences for the whole area.

That is how the idea came about to buy this piece of untouched rainforest and turn it into a protected landscape area. Given the situation of the indigenous people, however, the price of about 30,000 dollars was completely out of reach. So we reached out to people in the Czech Republic, and that is how our association was born, under the name Život Postaru.

In 2014 we managed to buy the land. The next step was to save another area – a plot with a lagoon in the province of Orellana. The area is a unique habitat with an enormous diversity of fauna and flora in an untouched part of the Amazon. In 2019 we managed to raise the rest of the money and bought the land with the lagoon.

Thanks to your support, by 2024 we had saved more than 127 hectares of the Amazon rainforest. We want to turn this rainforest into a nature reserve and an educational centre where children from all over the world will learn about the power of nature and the importance of protecting it.

But our efforts do not end there. Mining and oil companies remain a threat. Part of the area around Ruku Samay has already been cleared. We still have the chance to save what we can. At the moment it is a plot of 23 ha above the waterfall. How can you help? Find out more here.

Our association's other activities focus mainly on educational events in the Czech Republic and Ecuador and on supporting the self-sufficiency of the Ruku Samay settlement and the nearby Rio Blanco community. At the same time, our work is aimed at establishing an official forest school, Sachawa, for local children, thereby preserving the original indigenous wisdom passed down from generation to generation for centuries.