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Saving a Language, Saving a Forest: The Kamëntsá Approach to Ecology
In the heart of the Upper Putumayo, the Kamëntsá Nation carries an ecological wisdom that has protected the Amazon for thousands of years. Their worldview — encoded in language, ceremony, plant medicine, and relational ethics — offers a living model of how humans can coexist with the Earth without destroying it. Yet today, the same forces that endanger the forest are also endangering the language that teaches how to protect it. Across the Amazon, hundreds of medicinal plants,

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
6 days ago3 min read


Why Indigenous Languages Matter for the Future of the Amazon: Lessons from the Kamëntsá People
By OIOC – Organization for Indigenous Outreach & Conservation A hybrid reflection grounded in ancestral wisdom and intercultural science Kamemtsa Biyán Women A Forest Speaks Through Its People If the Amazon is the lungs of our planet, then Indigenous languages are its memory — the living archive through which the forest teaches, heals, warns, and guides. Across the Amazon Basin, every tree, river, animal, and medicinal plant has a name, a story, a function in the greater fab

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
Nov 214 min read


Help Us Protect the Kamëntsá Language: A Living Treasure of the Colombian Amazon
The Kamëntsá language — one of the most ancient living voices of the Upper Putumayo in the Colombian Amazon — is at risk of disappearing. There are moments in history when an ancient voice calls out to us — softly, urgently — asking to be protected.Today , that voice comes from the heart of the Colombian Amazon, from a people who have carried memory, ceremony, and ecological wisdom for thousands of years. It is the voice of the Kamëntsá language , spoken in the Upper Putumayo

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
Nov 203 min read


Indigenous-Led Intercultural Science Program: Bridging Ancestral Wisdom and Modern Research
Indigenous-Led Intercultural Science Program: Bridging Ancestral Wisdom and Modern Research

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
Oct 314 min read


OIOC’s Path Toward Sustainability: Rooted in Reciprocity, Growing in Integrity
OIOC’s Path Toward Sustainability: Rooted in Reciprocity, Growing in Integrity

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
Oct 314 min read


OIOC Community Impact Report
February – June 2025 Rooted in Reciprocity, Growing Through Community Support For the Kamëntsá people, life moves in circles, not in...

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
Jul 64 min read


Indigenous Reciprocity and Sacred Plant Medicine: A Living Bridge Between Healing and Giving
Indigenous Reciprocity and the Healing Relationship With the Earth Most of today’s illness—emotional, ecological, and spiritual—stems...

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
May 93 min read


The Kamëntsá People: Guardians of the Amazon and Their Sacred Traditions
Who Are the Kamëntsá? Indigenous Stewards of the Colombian Amazon In the highland forests of the Colombian Amazon, in the sacred Sibundoy...

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
May 83 min read


Healing the World Through Ancestral Wisdom and Sacred Plant Medicine
The Roots of the Earth: Ancestral Wisdom as a Path to Global Healing Across time and civilizations, humanity has searched for ways to...

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
May 83 min read


How Plant Medicine Supports Indigenous People
Sacred Plant Medicine and Amazonian Indigenous Wisdom In the heart of the Amazon, sacred plant medicine is more than a healing...

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
May 83 min read


What is Yagé? Understanding the Sacred Medicine of the Amazon
Ancestral Plant Medicine and the Sacred Brew of Yagé Yagé, often referred to globally as Ayahuasca, is a revered plant medicine used for...

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
May 84 min read


Amazon Conservation with Indigenous Communities | OIOC
Amazon Conservation Through Indigenous Reciprocity The Amazon Rainforest is more than the lungs of the Earth — it is a sacred living...

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
Apr 243 min read


Ayahuasca Retreat: authentic ayahuasca experience
ayahuasca retreat, authentic healing expirience with Kamentsa indigenous people

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
Apr 241 min read


OIOC Community advances - February 2025
We are honored to share our latest advances uniting environmental conservation with indigenous wisdom. Through community collaboration,...

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
Feb 163 min read


Honoring Ancestral Wisdom in Psychedelic Research
Yage/Ayahuasca vine, Shanayoy.org Our current world has lost touch with the sacred, contributing to widespread social problems and mental...

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
Dec 13, 20245 min read


Press Release
OIOC Becomes an Official Nonprofit Partner of GlobalGiving. OIOC is Fully Vetted as a Trusted Organization Supporting Indigenous...

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
Nov 21, 20242 min read


OIOC Impact
OIOC Impact Report from Donations Introduction Dear community and supporters, we know it is not the end of the year yet! But we want to...

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
Oct 21, 20244 min read


COP 16 - Peace with Nature
Calling for Action: Revindication of Indigenous Rights at COP16 in Colombia As COP16 takes place in Cali, Colombia, bringing together...

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
Oct 21, 20242 min read


Resilience and Wisdom: The Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon
For over 500 years, the Indigenous peoples of the Amazon have faced relentless challenges posed by colonization, extractivism, and the...

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
Jul 29, 20243 min read


Biodiversity and Indigenous Knowledge: A Two-Way Road for Conservation and Life
Biodiversity is essential for life on Earth. It provides the necessary sustenance for our existence, including the air we breathe, the...

Oioc El Origen Shanayoy
Jul 29, 20242 min read
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