Working from the Ground Up in the Peruvian Amazon
Meet Robin Van Loon of Camino Verde
No, that’s not Robin. Robin is a man from the U.S. who has lived in the Tambopata province of the Peruvian Amazon since 2004. He is a long-time student of traditional and indigenous agriculture and medicinal practices. Robin’s work over the past decade has focused on developing community-based reforestation strategies to regenerate endangered plants of the Amazon. He is a writer, regenerative designer, and consultant in agroforestry, reforestation, and regenerative development. Robin founded and is the executive director of the nonprofit Camino Verde. CV’s mission is to restore the forest landscapes of the Amazon by strengthening forest communities. That’s a tall order, but a decade into it, Camino Verde is making a difference.
Long story short. SPI first contacted Robin in 2017. We sent a (paper) letter (not an unusual way for us to get in touch with folks) to his home address in the States introducing him to the work of Story Preservation and asking if he would consider adding his story to the collection. The letter was received by his father in Massachusetts, who then forwarded it to Robin in Peru. All good, right? Except it never got there. Well, it got there, but it took two-and-a-half years. So, it was 2020 before SPI received Robin’s reply. He sent us an email saying in so many words that if the opportunity is still there, I’d love to. In 2020, SPI recorded what can only now be referred to as Part One of Robin’s story.
If you remember 2020 at all, and some of us would prefer not to, COVID hit. As a result, Part One languished, and, over time, Robin’s audio recording fell off the radar screen—until 2024, that is, when SPI received another email from Robin. Knowing of his continued interest, we jumped at the chance to, at long last, pick up where we left off! We’ll be recording Part Two in early May. What is especially cool about these recordings is that together, they’re a time capsule of sorts—where Camino Verde was in 2020 and the progress that was made over the course of the last four years. And it is considerable.
SPI is in the process of developing a lesson plan to accompany the final audio, which will combine parts one and two. The objective is to help students understand the local and global impact of reforestation and how agroforestry can strengthen local communities and ecosystems while fostering a deeper understanding of sustainable practices and their impact.
About Camino Verde
Camino Verde focuses on conservation efforts, particularly related to the Amazon rainforest. They work on projects aimed at sustainable land use, reforestation, and biodiversity conservation. One of their key initiatives is to promote the cultivation of native tree species to restore degraded areas and support local communities economically. Camino Verde also engages in research and education programs to raise awareness about environmental issues and the importance of preserving the Amazon ecosystem. To take a look at their website, click here.
There’s a whole lot more, and it’s a big lesson in the development of sustainable practices and their impact. SPI is very eager to share this story with our listeners. It will be finalized and uploaded to the SPI Learning Lab later this spring.
About Story Preservation Initiative
Our Mission: Story Preservation Initiative believes in the transformative power of story to connect people around our common humanity and create a better future.
Our Work: We are a leading producer and online distributor of original, content-rich audio-based narratives for K-12 students. SPI stories are the raw materials of history, roadmaps to scientific discovery, and windows to the minds of artists and skilled tradesmen and women. SPI also makes available original projects and educator prompts developed to deepen student engagement and learning.
What We Achieve: SPI brings listeners into personal contact with extraordinary people whose stories engage their hearts and minds, imparting content knowledge and fostering curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking as they open doors to possible career paths in professions associated with the arts, sciences, humanities, and skilled trades.
SPI was founded in 2010. We are fully open-source.
SPI produces original, primary source recordings of extraordinary people who share their knowledge and experience with young people to educate, inspire, and make learning meaningful and real-world relevant.
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