Spring/Summer 2024, Jungle News: Tourism returns, email to the president, sanitary napkins, graduation, and craft fairs!

As our director prepares to return to Colombia in July, we have our Summer update on what has happened with Amazon Pueblo.  Please enjoy reading about our adventures, and thank you to everyone who has made this possible!

In the Amazon

Preview of LaSelva (ESPECTACULAR!), a video of life in an Amazonian village

In March of 2024, I received a message from Gustavo (our main contact in the village) that a person had emailed him and wanted to volunteer in La Libertad.  That person, Paul Chelmis, is a traveler and videographer from the States.  He loves to tell stories through his videos.  Paul stayed in La Libertad for a week, living, learning, and filming.  READ MORE and see the video

Beyond the Tourist Trail: A Week of Raw Amazonian Life

We are happy to share good news from the jungle! Now that we have stable internet (thank you to our donors), we finally have sustainable tourism to help support our mission's educational goals in the village.

Last April, Paul joined us to volunteer in the village. He found out about La Libertad through a website we maintain for Gustavo. Paul is a professional... READ MORE

Our email to the president of Colombia

For people who may not have seen it, we have started a social media campaign to call attention to the deplorable state of the school in La Libertad.  As part of the campaign, we emailed various government members in the Amazon and Bogota.  Here is what we said: READ MORE

Adventure returns to the village: Visit us in the jungle!

Our internet connection made this visit possible.  It allowed us to help connect, plan, and support the trip.  We connected our guide in the village with our guest, translated, and helped to coordinate his visit.

Tourism in La Libertad has been very slow since the pandemic, but it is returning!  We thank Stefan, from Germany, for visiting us in the Amazon.  Please READ MORE and enjoy these pictures of his trip.

Sanitary Pads for the Young Women of La Libertad

Thank you to HIS Handiwork Guild, the Long Beach-based group that makes and donates washable reusable sanitary pads.  Muchas gracias, Nancy and Irene!

At first, we didn't know if the women would like and use them.  It turns out that the villagers... READ MORE

Seven Years of Perseverance Pays Off with Graduation!

Congratulations to Maide!  She has been in our scholarship program since 2018.  She attended elementary school in La Libertad and high school in Leticia, Colombia.  After graduating high school, she... READ MORE

In the US

Amazon Pueblo: How we procedurally became, and continue to be, a nonprofit organization

A step-by-step accounting of what we have done!

After helping a friend who is planning to start a nonprofit, we thought it might be interesting or helpful to others to know how we did it and what we continue to do to keep our nonprofit organization up and running.  Here is our story.  READ MORE

Craft Fair Fundraisers

Join Us for the Thomaston 4th of July Craft Fair, 2024!

When: Thursday, July 4th, 10 am – 1 pm

Where: Next to the town office and police station, Valley Street, Thomaston, Maine 

What: Sales of indigenous handcrafts, Colombian emerald jewelry, and more!

Why: To benefit the education of indigenous students in the Colombian Amazon.

Please visit our website to LEARN MORE about the fair.

Student Scholarship Program

We are happy to be approaching 50 scholarships for the 2024 school year!  That is up from the 38 scholarships we presented in 2023.  Each student receives $130 to aid with school shopping.  Thank you to all of our sponsors!  To learn about the scholarship program, please READ MORE.

Artisans of La Libertad

As an added bonus to our newsletter readers, here is a link to the video of the Artisans of La Libertad, which shows a bit about how they make their handcrafts.  Thank you, Paul, for this awesome video!

Visit the Amazon!

Would you like to visit us in the Amazon?  We have volunteer opportunities and a more traditional tourism program.  Please visit our website to LEARN MORE.  Do you know someone who likes to travel?  Please forward this newsletter or the info below to them.  Gracias!