Intentional community, ecological living, bordered private enclave property (27.8 acres) in Piaroa Territory, from here we work with local farmers to improve their forest based agricultural practices and avoid unsustainable forest use.
At the ecological crossroads, civilization meets indigenous anarchy, and laws that apply are made by the Pachamama and prevailing indigenous cosmovision, which are understood only through the eyes of the shaman.
Make an everlasting impact on the world by becoming one of the pioneer protectors of the sustainable future of the Huottuja-De'aruhua (Piaroa People) by investing finances and resources in their socioeconomic agroforestry activities and international cooperative as a sovereign Indigenous nation. Investments in Theobroma agroforestry and the cooperative are bound in real estate and administered by a United States cooperative association in Kentucky.
Ekobius is a nonprofit collective amalgamation of conservation programs and sustainable environmental initiatives with the Piaroa People who live in 33 indigenous villages. As an international cooperative working within the parameters of the Sovereign Laws of the Piaroa Nation and US Law through the Ekobius property, even the most unlikely of friends are allied by an interest in chocolate and its precursor cacao in biodiversity, here where it was discovered growing wild in 1800.
We are geographically the last non-indigenous-owned property before entering the wilderness area; East of our property, there are no roads, cities, or towns that are not indigenous.
We are very easy to get to and located just 500 meters short of the end of the most remote paved highway in the country. From our village going north, east or south there are no roads for over 500 kilometers. Our property on the map is located near the upper western side of the largest natural geographical biodiversity region globally; only Russia's Siberia, Northern Alaska, and part of North-central Canada come close to being compared as a similar geographic dominion.
Visitors can plan and coordinate activities and use our village for research expeditions. We offer camping, hammocks, or a hostel room for self-guided visitors, starting at $10 per day for one month and going up to $50 per day for a four-day planned visit with our attendant. We have our own unregistered non-state indigenous guides who are willing to provide trailblazing, porter, and trekking experience for less than $30 per day for three guides (including food and porters) to nearly any remote natural monument or biosphere area for students and researchers. Trips can be organized and take 10 to 30 days to complete; it takes about 100 days to transverse Venezuela from Ekobius to the east.
All volunteers and program participants must register or sign a hold-harmless waiver upon arrival. We have two members living nearby that are medical professionals (one doctor and a paramedic) in the event of emergency. There is treatment for malaria in both Venezuela and Colombia.
Near the End of the Road, driving the Southernmost road into the Venezuela jungle, you will find one of two Ekōbius camp/ecovillage projects on the Guiana Shield. We intend to implement an independently funded ecological restoration and enhancement program where internationals (global citizens) live under the principles of an open, cooperative society and business enterprise. Legally, we are best viewed as a cooperative and intentional community.
We consider our location the safest and best-located destination in South America for nature lovers, scientists, and explorers coming to the Amazon for the first time. At Ekobius, short-term visitors can adjust to the climate, detox from civilization, and open new doors of perception through ayahuasca and yopo therapy. We can also offer many custom-tailored experiences and visits with different regional shamans.
Unlike other communities, we are developed as a unanimous cooperative of up to 100/1000 equal owners who own the Ekōbius International project. also, unlike many, we have no dietary restrictions; we are self-governed and use the ideal of Pachamama instead of a particular religious faith to unite the society and interact with nearby indigenous communities who are our cooperative beneficiaries.
Our program development area is an intensive conservation management project involving 20,000 hectares (nearly 60,000 acres) of agroforestry, permaculture, non-wood forest production, and integrated indigenous farming with native inhabitants.
Our campground and ecological village development site is approximately 10.9 hectares (27.8 acres) and has approximately one kilometer of river frontage on the Catañiapo River and approximately 200 meters of paved municipal pike frontage between Gavilan and Puerto Ayacucho. The campground is the furthest point you can drive to and stage an expedition. Our property was formerly a Christian revival center used during Easter and Christmas; it was known to accommodate as many as 200-500 people for events.
Ekōbius is a working cooperative and functions as an active community partner with local indigenous villages where community members participate in coordinated harvest standardization and centralized processing of particular superfoods, cacao, coffee, medicinal plants and non-wood forest products. Indigenous cooperators are fully compensated and sustained for their peerage and production under free and fair-trade standards.