Yorenka Tasorentsi Institute regenerates Amazon ecosystems through Indigenous-led reforestation, agroforestry, and ancestral wisdom

Led by Asháninka leader Benki Piyãko, the Yorenka Tasorentsi Institute restores degraded Amazon landscapes through holistic forestry, livestock and cultural programmes. As a Bright Spot, they demonstrate how ecological health is inseparable from Indigenous knowledge.

Founded in 2018 by the prominent Asháninka spiritual and political leader Benki Piyãko — who is widely recognised as a social entrepreneur, environmental activist and human rights advocate — the Yorenka Tasorentsi Institute is based in the municipality of Marechal Thaumaturgo, state of Acre, Upper Juruá region of the Amazon along the Brazil-Peru border. The Institute integrates ecological restoration, agroforestry, wildlife repatriation, cultural revival and community wellbeing within its mission to regenerate the Amazon rainforest and foster a deeper awareness of humanity’s connection to nature. This includes fish farming, beekeeping, poultry, vegetable gardens, a platform for regenerating biodiversity, ecosystem functions, and intergenerational stewardship.

Through his work, Benki plants agroforestry plots at the Institute to recover degraded areas, interweaving fruit trees, medicinal plants, staple crops and sacred medicinal species. These living gardens provide food security for the local population and wild animals, as well as traditional medicinal plants, demonstrating that reforestation encompasses both subsistence and culture. To date, the Institute has purchased and protected 1,500 hectares of degraded land and Benki has planted over two million native trees along the years, aiming to reach 10 million over the next decade.

“My work demonstrates how we can reverse the economy's impacts, which often overlook future consequences. By combining our indigenous empirical knowledge with coexistence with nature, we can achieve sustainability. However, if we continue to pollute rivers and deforest, we will all face dire consequences, as land without forests cannot thrive, and rivers depend on forests for their water supply. I hope this knowledge is embraced not only by Indigenous Peoples, who are its guardians, but also by scientists, economists, businesses, and industries that often consume and destroy without considering the potential benefits of restoration.”

— Benki Piyãko, Asháninka spiritual and political leader, Founder of Yorenka Tasorentsi Institute

How is Yorenka Tasorentsi different from more mainstream ecosystem restoration approaches?

Yorenka Tasorentsi stands out among restoration initiatives for being Indigenous led, marrying Asháninka cosmology with modern restoration strategies. Their agriculture is not extractive; it is part of an integrated living forest economy, where culture, food, economy, and ecosystem regeneration are woven together.

The ecological systems managed by the Institute support and sustain local communities, including 30 fishponds populated with native species and shaded by fruit-bearing forest trees. The Institute’s technical team organises and conducts the collection of seeds from native forest trees for seedling production. Annual planting events are scheduled according to seasonal conditions, employing both ancestral and modern techniques. In addition, the Institute promotes the protection of various wildlife, including terrapins, river turtles, diverse bird species, tapirs, deer, sloths, important insects and many more, all of which play a crucial role in the natural recovery of forest biodiversity. This approach emphasises the recovery of the land as a relational and conscientious responsibility, rather than merely addressing a technical issue.

Image: Asháninka spiritual and political leader Benki Piyãko, who founded the Yorenka Tasorentsi Institute in Brazil in 2018.

Why does Yorenka Tasorentsi’s approach matter?

The Amazon is a global climate linchpin, but rampant deforestation, fires and droughts are unraveling its potential. In 2023, drought-fueled fires threatened hundreds of hectares of reforested land. Institute staff, neighbouring families and volunteers fought flames with water backpacks, saving large areas of forest that would otherwise have been lost. This response reflected more than crisis management: it embodied solidarity, collective vigilance, and the determination to protect years of planting.

With community-led agroforestry as a model for other regions, the Institute uplifts not just ecosystems, but Indigenous and non-indigenous autonomy and ecological education for the whole population. Through ecological and cultural restoration, Yorenka Tasorentsi offers a blueprint for resilience.

“I would like all world leaders to recognise, as we do as spiritual leaders, the importance of human values and what we consume daily. Our spiritual wisdom connects us and teaches us to respect diversity, as we are all interlinked. We need to value the traditional and ancient knowledge of each nation to promote meaningful transformations. As a spiritual, political, and environmental leader, I advocate for survival and the education of the youth. We must find a diplomatic dialogue that helps us understand how changes affect us and restore the relationship between science and human consciousness. Respect is fundamental for this transformation.”
— Benki Piyãko, Asháninka spiritual and political leader, Founder of Yorenka Tasorentsi Institute

What could the future look like if Yorenka Tasorenti scales?

Imagine Amazon regions stitched back together with living forests — vibrant agroforests replacing cattle ranches and burned grasslands. These are systems that feed rivers, sustain wildlife and nourish local economies, with pollinators and native species flourishing across corridors of fruit, nut and timber trees. Education centers started at the Institute are already being spread across the Amazon, revitalising ancestral knowledge and offering a global model for renewing ecosystems. Forest gardens, not mono plantations, would become the norm, where humans, wildlife and plants co-create a living economy.

Scaling the Institute’s vision and work would mean not just ecological healing, but political transformation: Indigenous knowledge guiding and inspiring governance, fire prevention strategies grounded in lived resilience, and cultural protection and renewal as a pillar of climate action.

Image: The ecological systems managed by the Institute support and sustain local communities, including 30 fishponds populated with native species and shaded by fruit-bearing forest trees.

Questions to consider

How might grounding restoration in ancestral and not just technical wisdom deepen ecological resilience?

What would reforestation look like if it always included livelihood, culture, and ceremony?

Meet the Bright Spots

A Forum for the Future initiative, in partnership with The Earthshot Prize, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors and Trane Technologies, the Future of Sustainability: Reimagining the Way the World Works is showcasing the social and climate initiatives shaping a better future, today.

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