“Twenty years ago, I was alone, starving in the Amazon rainforest. I realized then that if things didn’t change – if *I* didn’t change – I would die alone here in the forest. That’s when I met you. That’s when I met Not For Sale.” – Martin Huaypuna Flores, leader of the Indigenous-led AFIMAD co-op.

I was stunned. It was a surreal moment.

We were standing deep in the Peruvian Amazon, a place whose intensity is impossible to fully comprehend until you’re there. And then, there was Martin, our partner of nearly two decades, sharing his heart. Sharing his story.

“When we first met,” he continued, “I was in indentured servitude. I had taken on an illegal debt. If I didn’t harvest enough Brazil nuts to pay off the (supply chain) middleman, I would be forced to work in the illegal gold mines here in Madre de Dios.”

Another wave of shock hit us. Martin himself had been forced into working the gold mines!?

We hadn’t known the extent of the exploitation he’d faced. (It turns out it took him years to understand the reality of his own situation.) 

David Batstone and I had first ventured to the rainforest because children from this area of the Amazon were being trafficked to Lima, over a thousand miles away. We were there to understand why the kids had been exploited, sadly we hadn’t thought to question the situation of the adults.

The mines Martin spoke of were ravaging the health of the rainforest. Martin and other indigenous people could no longer fish from the river due to mercury poisoning used in the mining process.

Slavery and environmental destruction, bound together in a grim cycle. This is a reality we’ve seen repeated in places where we work across the globe.

David Batstone, Co-Founder of Not For Sale with Martin Huaypuna Flores, leader of the Indigenous-led AFIMAD co-op in Madre de Dios, Peru

It is why Not For Sale has increasingly focused on the crossroads of people and the planet, using business innovation to drive enterprises like REBBL, Regenerate, and M2i Global.

Martin finished: “I realized it was only through friendship, a global family, that we can not just survive, but thrive. And that is why I am Not For Sale.”

On this Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we honor Martin and the many dozens of indigenous communities we partner with – from Thailand to Australia to Peru – in gratitude for their friendship and leadership as we all adapt to a changing climate.

On this Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we reaffirm our founding belief:

I am not for sale.
You are not for sale.
No one should be for sale.

Together, we can and will create a healthier path forward for all people and the planet.

– Mark Wexler, CEO & Co-Founder of Not For Sale

Further viewing, watch REBBL With A Cause (Narrated by Ruby Rose):

More Pictures from the Peruvian Amazon: