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Earth Spirit
Rejuvenation
Revitalizing indigenous communities
and the lands
where they
live
OUR MISSION
Our purpose is
to provide solutions to cultural, environmental, and economic
challenges facing communities in the United States and
Bolivia.
PRIMARY AREAS OF PROJECT
DEVELOPMENT
·
Leading projects which provide jobs and
job training in indigenous traditional practices for youth and
women and environmental and cultural
education;
·
Assisting Bolivian communities,
financially and technically, with developing potable water and
sanitation systems;
·
Performing watershed assessments for
watershed associations, government agencies, and nonprofits and
recommending restoration
projects;
·
Designing and
building stream and ecosystem restoration projects in watersheds
impacted by overgrazing, fire suppression, over-logging,
etc.
Wildfire Hazard
Reduction Program: Washoe Native American Youth Forest
Crews
We are creating the opportunity for Washoe youth to learn how to apply traditional indigenous forestry in the modern world. The crucial role that indigenous peoples played in forest management up until 150 years ago is becoming more evident each year as intense, out-of-control wildfires char our forests and any communities in their path. We are creating a youth program to provide jobs and job training, environmental and cultural education, and to restore our forests through indigenous forestry.
Planning for Restoration:
Watershed Assessments
In order to
aid agencies and organizations with the restoration of impacted
watersheds, we perform watershed assessments of the hydrologic,
biologic, and geomorphic state of the watershed and/or river,
historically and today. This information gives
stakeholders the missing information they need to move forward
most efficiently and effectively to preserve and restore
watersheds.
Stream Restoration Design
Projects
After the assessment, then comes the work for
change. We design streams and meadows that resemble their
appearances before urbanization or overgrazing took place.
Our plans are holistic and address all potential land use
impacts and offer solutions to mitigate their effects so that
the new design is successful.
Artisan Cooperative and Water System
Development.
Bolivia is a country of diversity. It houses
parts of the Amazon Rain Forest and the Andes Mountains as well
as dozens of indigenous cultures. Most of the
country’s people live on the high plain, the Altiplano, at
14,000 feet above sea level, surviving on little more than $2
per day per household.
Our purpose in Bolivia is to
facilitate:
·
the development of artisan cooperatives
capable of conducting business with the Western
world;
·
the exchange of quality artisan goods to
the US and of much-needed
capital to poor Bolivian families and
communities;
·
access to the technical expertise of Earth
Spirit to help communities develop priorities and specific
plans to meet their water and sanitation
needs;
·
connecting communities with Bolivian
non-profits that will carry out the needed
projects.
CULTURAL
EXCHANGE
We envision a program for cultural exchange between youth
of the United States and Bolivia. In the coming years, we
will develop the framework for youth from indigenous communities
of the US and Bolivia to communicate with and visit one
another. This will include Bolivians taking part in the
youth crews as well as US youth helping build drinking water
systems for Bolivian communities.
WHO WE ARE
Art George, Jr. is leading efforts in
the Washoe Native American Tribe to develop youth intervention
programs and return Washoe to their ancestral lands and cultural practices around
Lake Tahoe by providing environmental restoration
services. Art will share his Washoe wisdom with the youth
work crews.
Jennifer
Hamblen is a hydrologist, yoga teacher, work crew and
backpacking leader for youth, and practically full-time
volunteer for Bolivian water projects. She offers her
diverse experience and motivation to make a difference to help
power this organization.
Mitchell
Swanson brings over twenty years of experience as a
scientist and owner of an environmental consulting firm that
specializes in watershed assessessments and stream restoration projects. He
also volunteers with Cornerstones, a nonprofit that encourages
community service through spiritual
empowerment.
CONTACT Earth Spirit Rejuvenation 500 Seabright Ave Suite 202 Santa Cruz, CA 95062 Phone (831) 818-7730
Earth Spirit Rejuvenation
is a partner project of The Mountain Fund.
The Mountain Fund is a
U.S. I.R.S. 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization, and your donation is
tax-deductible to the extent allowed by governing laws.
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