Mission & Vision
Mission
Our mission is to honor, preserve and protect the Amazon rainforest and indigenous cultures by providing goods, educational tools, and direct services to frontline communities in a spirit of compassion, reciprocity and gratitude. This work also provides a crucial bridge between the modern and ancient world, bringing the tribes’ traditional wisdom and solutions to heal our world.
Vision
We create a world in which all people, starting with indigenous communities, are free, thriving, and living in harmony with the earth. In the world we envision, communities are healthy, abundant, and self-sustaining, elders are cared for and honored, the basic needs of children and families are met, and all people enjoy the opportunity to live in joy.
We work toward this vision by directly providing Amazonian indigenous communities with resources related to food security, transportation, education, health care, and other essentials of life. While these ancient cultures share rich and time-honored traditions of living in harmony with the planet, modern globalization has encroached on their way of life and introduced new struggles, including foreign concepts like poverty, addiction, pollution and scarcity. We envision a reality in which these communities are supported, protected and free to thrive in today’s world, and encouraged to maintain their unique essence rather than assimilating in order to keep up with global pressures.
In the Quechua language, the word “Ayni” refers to the idea of reciprocity, acknowledging our interconnectedness in the web of existence and our sacred duty to one another in our shared community. The Amazon and its people provide the world with resources and wisdom that serve all mankind, and yet these people and their home face the threat of extinction. The vision of the Kana Samura Foundation is to engage in the practice of Ayni by protecting these lands and their guardians, equipping tribal communities with what they need to thrive and maintain their identity.
These tribes are vital, valuable members of our global community, and we support their flourishing by providing goods, services and education: we feed hungry people and help them build regenerative systems of long-term food security; we equip communities with vehicles like trucks and boats to support their self-sufficiency; we employ skilled local laborers to construct shelters that serve as family housing and community gathering places; we support the livelihood of elders so they are free to share their wisdom with the next generation; and we facilitate cultural exchange and global kinship by visiting these communities, serving them, listening to them, and building strong relationships of trust and reciprocity.
Since 2008, the Kana Samurai Foundation has been building these relationships, honoring indigenous people and the land by showing up and giving back. We aim to continue and scale up this work in the coming years, feeding and sheltering more people, creating more sustainable infrastructure, providing increased access to health care, and building healing and education centers that serve as a nexus of communication between indigenous and modern cultures. Direct exposure to the ancient wisdom and therapies of these timeless indigenous cultures has had a profound healing impact on the lives of countless visitors – and this wisdom, in turn, benefits our families and communities as well.
Our foundation began our work in one specific tribal community, Samauma, the sacred land of the Noke Koi people – but over time, we see this work radiating out and impacting even more people. Our hope and belief is that by healing and serving one tribe, this harmony and quality of life will ripple out to all beings.
We hope more and more people will join and support our work to preserve, strengthen, and honor indigenous cultures, directly improving their quality of life and liberating their wisdom to heal the world.
Programs
Overview of what we do and link to PROJECTS.
- HOUSING AND INFRASTRUCTURE
- HUNGER RELIEF AND FOOD SUSTAINABILITY
- EDUCATION AND CULTURAL PRESERVATION
- TRANSPORTATION
- A BRIDGE BETWEEN WORLDS
The Legend of Shono Pae
The indigenous cosmovision talks about a time in which humanity would become disconnected from life, from one another, and from nature – a time in which there would be great suffering due to man’s lack of connection to their planet, mother earth.
The Shono Tree (Samauma) is considered by the people of the Amazon to be a sacred and ancient spirit with great power. It is the tallest and oldest tree in the Amazonian rainforest. It is home to, and guardian of, hundreds of animal and plant species that live around it.
It is said that this tree holds the memory of humanity, and in mankind’s darkest hour, it would help us remember how we used to live in harmony with the world around us.
For indigenous people, all animals and plants are teachers and healers. Their medicine, along with the prayer of this story, is what makes this tree so sacred. It is something we must protect.
To do so, we must first support and protect its guardians, its people, the natural inhabitants of the Amazon.