!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tropical Dry Forest Needs Your Help!

Hello Permies Community,

I’m reaching out on behalf of my indigenous community, which is currently facing a devastating forest fire in our territory. We’ve been fighting the blaze for over a week with the help of government institutions, but we’ve already lost over 2,000 hectares of jungle, and the fire continues to spread.



Over 300 people are on the front lines, exhausted, and we’ve depleted all our resources. At the request of my community, I’ve set up a fundraiser with a local platform that receives international support to gather support. Any contribution, big or small, would mean the world to us.



Funds will go directly towards food, water, tools, animal rescue, and other essential supplies for the community’s ongoing efforts.



Thank you so much for your help and solidarity!

Click Here to support

I'd like to donate for the fire fighting support, but can't understand the website link enough to do it. I think it need some some sort of ID and the only one I recognise is a passport and I don't have one of those. Can I send you funds direct for you to transfer? Do you have Paypal perhaps?

Nancy Reading wrote:I'd like to donate for the fire fighting support, but can't understand the website link enough to do it. I think it need some some sort of ID and the only one I recognise is a passport and I don't have one of those. Can I send you funds direct for you to transfer? Do you have Paypal perhaps?

Thank you Nancy!

This is the paypal email for the non-profit that covers the indigenous communities:

asoyapo@gmail.com

Thank you Andres - I've sent a little $ to help. Wishing you rain as well perhaps!

Nancy Reading wrote:Thank you Andres - I've sent a little $ to help. Wishing you rain as well perhaps!

thank you so much! weather forecast says there is some chance  tomorrow night! 🙏🏻🙏🏻

Nancy Reading wrote:I'd like to donate for the fire fighting support, but can't understand the website link enough to do it. I think it need some some sort of ID and the only one I recognise is a passport and I don't have one of those. Can I send you funds direct for you to transfer? Do you have Paypal perhaps?

I think that maybe the link got updated? Or maybe it sometimes it goes to English and sometimes not?  When I clicked it, I came to https://vaki.co/en/vaki/asociacion-campesina-e-indigena-de-guardianes-del-bosque-seco-tropical, which is in English.

Nicole Alderman wrote:I think that maybe the link got updated? Or maybe it sometimes it goes to English and sometimes not?  When I clicked it, I came to https://vaki.co/en/vaki/asociacion-campesina-e-indigena-de-guardianes-del-bosque-seco-tropical, which is in English.

Oh yes the site is in English, it wasn't quite clear for me how to donate though. Other people seem to have managed (which is great!) but the paypal link worked too.

I do hope that they get the fire stopped soon.

Looks like the fires are still raging - stay safe!

Nancy Reading wrote:

Looks like the fires are still raging - stay safe!

We have fires here also. It makes it hard to breathe for the healthy, for those with lung problems, it could become deadly.
I worked at the forest service headquarters and 98% of forest fires are human caused! Between the loss of air cleansing trees, to loss of animals and their habitat, the destruction is devastating.
As a humane human being, I am grateful to be able to see people who are more in tune with living with a smaller global imprint.

Thank you all so much for your support and prayers!

Unfortunately, 25% of the tropical dry forest in the entire department of Tolima has burned. The good news is that our section of the jungle is so dense that all the trees taller than 15 meters (around 50 feet) made it through. Ten years of reforestation have been wiped out, but we're getting right back to work. We’re going to implement everything we’ve learned over the years and use permaculture as the guiding principle for the recovery.

I’ll keep you updated, and we’re also setting up a platform to make sure any future support goes directly toward the restoration process.

Thanks again! Onward!!