PROJECT
Peru
It is estimated that in 2014, 66,300 people were living in slavery in Peru. Trafficking takes on many forms, often dependent on the region of Peru – in the jungle, there is forced labor in gold mining camps and in brothels targeting miners; in Lima, there is forced begging, sex work and drug trafficking; in the mountains, traffickers will use the outdated Padrino system to trick trusting parents into giving away their children.
Our Mission
To provide safe economic opportunities and reduce the number of adults and children becoming trafficking victims out of desperation for employment. To improve the likelihood that children stay in school.
Our Challenges
The demographics of trafficking victims is approximated as – 86.2% female, 82.7% children, 75.9% trafficked for sex, 41.4% trafficked for labor. Labor-trafficking occupations are most often domestic work and nannying, or mining. The most common types of sex trafficking are street prostitution, brothel prostitution and sex tourism.
Our Impact
Not For Sale has developed a scholarship program to provide housing, school fees, supplies and emotional support for vulnerable children in rural parts of Peru. We created community gardens in six schools to educate students, teachers and family members on the importance of proper nutrition, as well as promoting self-sufficiency. Not for Sale has developed fish farms to provide the community with clean nutrition, free from mercury poisoning (from gold mines).
We provide artisan training and small business workshops to hundreds of women in the Amazon, helping develop self-esteem while learning marketable trades and skill sets. This increases household income – shown to prolong schooling and reduce labor for their children.
To increase economic opportunity in the region, Not for Sale has supported the AFIMAD cooperative; nine indigenous communities that sustainably gather Brazil nuts from the Amazon. We have increased the value of their crop by paying for organic certification and commit to purchasing part of their harvest.
Want to see the full picture of what your support makes possible?
47
Individuals received an education
52
Individuals received job training
230
Members of the local community served
3,780
individuals quality of life improved
Protect Amazonian Biodiversity
The Madre de Dios region of the Peruvian Amazon holds one of the richest concentrations of plant life on Earth, and one of the deepest pools of practical knowledge about how to use, manage, and restore it. Three decades of population growth and accelerating development have eroded both. Timber species that were once abundant are vanishing, and so is the body of know-how built up around them.
Camino Verde Tambopata runs a reforestation center built around a Living Seed Bank, an experimental plantation with over 400 native Amazonian species. Their nurseries grow thousands of seedlings every year, and as of 2023 the project has planted more than 60,000 trees across Madre de Dios and Loreto. Just as important, the work itself trains the next generation in how to identify the seeds, raise the trees, and read the value of what the forest produces.
Not For Sale supports Protect Amazonian Biodiversity because a forest only stays restored if the people around it know what it's worth. When traditional knowledge survives alongside the trees, communities have a stake in the land that no extractive industry can outbid.
Field updates
Posts from the planting team1 Aug 2024
The tree sometimes called “the mother of the forest” is decked out in all of her finery. How lucky we are to get to see it.
1 Aug 2024
We have donated 10,000 tree seedlings, representing 70 different species, to the Municipality of Tambopata for planting in Puerto Maldonado in 2022 and 2023. Puerto Maldonado's designation as Peru's official "Biodiversity Capital" is enhanced by the presence of so many additional native species added to the parks and streets. Fun fact: We were given the title of "illustrious neighbor" by the Municipality for a previous donation of seedlings – that currently beautify the Plaza de Armas.
31 May 2024
Regenerating the Amazon involves more than just tree planting, which is why our mission is to restore the forest landscapes of the Amazon by strengthe...
31 May 2024
Reforestation attracts mobile helpers in the form of swoopers, divers, and gliders. The arrival of the winged ones is a sure sign that our planting systems are designed well enough to properly imitate a forest. But more than just an indicator, the presence of birds in our tree planting areas is also an enhancer, an enricher. Carrying seeds of diverse species that help re-wild the understory of our fledgling forests, birds also perform other important functions like pest control (scarfing pesky insects) and old-school fertilization (yep, that means poop!). A forest without birds? Is that really a forest? Special thanks to our volunteer Marc Melzer for these amazing bird shorts!
31 May 2024
La Joya is our second reforestation center in the Madre de Dios region of Peru, just outside the regional capital of Puerto Maldonado, Peru's official "Biodiversity Capital." CV La Joya is a demonstration site, showing off agroforestry's ability to restore degraded landscapes, like this former cattle pasture, to abundant green health. The center is also home to our largest tree nursery, producing over 100 species of Amazonian trees a year, some years as many as 100,000 seedlings.
30 Apr 2024
From cacao. And where does cacao come from? Well, according to research, the center of genetic diversity for the species known to science as Theobroma cacao is in the Western Amazon. We are grateful to have a nice swath of the genetic diversity of cacao present on our Amazonian reforestation centers. Diversity is resilience! Fun fact: recent research has looked at whether the wild genetics of Amazonian cacao could include varietals that don't do something that many cacao varieties do: accumulate the heavy metal cadmium in their beans. In this sense, it may be that the wild cacaos of places like Madre de Dios, Peru are better for you.
30 Apr 2024
From the same family as the Brazil nut tree, this deciduous tree with cannonball-like fruits is otherworldly. Not only are its flowers delicious looking and smelling - they grow not on the crown’s branches, but concentrated on the tree’s trunk! Much revered and at times even feared, this "planta maestra" (teacher-plant) is a cornerstone of shamanic practices as well as traditional medicine. Its fruits, unfortunately not so pleasantly fragrant, serve as food for animals and can be used in the treatment of skin diseases. As a whole, Ayahúma has great vulnerary, analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties, all of which have been examined scientifically. The flowers, besides offering a wonderful fragrance to the cosmetic industry, are being researched for exhibiting medicinal properties as well.
30 Apr 2024
Plant a tree, and we'll throw in some animals. We thank Mother Nature, thanks Mother Earth! It's true. Plant a tree and the generosity of life is such that you don't get just a tree, you get animals too. These are all shots of animals spotted in our reforestation areas in the Peruvian Amazon. When we design our tree planting systems, we try to imitate the natural ecosystems. And hopefully, then the animals come. This time, we saw a tapir on a camera trap! If they think it's a forest... isn't it a forest?
1 Mar 2024
Our team in Loreto has been busy since the end of 2023 prepping for their biggest operation of the year - the distribution and planting of over 11,000 seedlings to 8 communities in 2 river basins in the region. The reparto y siembra, or distribution and planting, is one of the key yearly accomplishments for our Loreto team! The first distribution was a success. In late January, the team spent over 10 days in the field alongside 11 families participating in a pilot of the rosewood program in a new region of Loreto - the buffer zone of the Maijuna-Kichwa Regional Conservation Area. Reaching 3 communities in the area, we are excited to work alongside the new participants in our program. And now, the team in Loreto is finishing the second plant distribution, reaching 30 new participating families and over 100 established participants in 5 communities with over 9,000 plants on their way to be planted in their permanent locations.
1 Mar 2024
In just two months, we've planted over 20,000 plants, of more than 50 native species. Over the next few weeks, our team and participating families in our agroforestry programs will be planting approximately 8,000 additional plants, thanks to your support!.
1 Dec 2023
The dry season is coming to an end and we began our reforestation efforts earlier this month. We hope you can continue to support us and we are excited to keep you updated with our reforestation efforts this season!
1 Dec 2023
We were selected as one of 15 UpLink - World Economic Forum Top Innovators, and are looking forward to joining this inspiring community of innovators to grow our impact. (In the picture you can see our team in Camino Verde prepping seedling bags with soil in preparation for establishing seedlings in the nursery)
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