A change in farming practices has never been more urgent.

Globally, one of today's greatest challenges is producing more food while reducing agriculture's environmental harm. Between 1978 and 2020, more than 75 million hectares of rainforest were lost in the Amazon, mainly for agricultural commodities and cattle ranching.

This situation presents a critical question: how can agriculture support the global food system without degrading the planet's ecosystems?

Thanks to ecological farming practices, Indigenous farmers can help the world transition to a more sustainable food system.

Aliados connects smallholder farmers to responsible markets through regenerative agriculture, unlocking new value for the world's most biodiverse landscapes.

“Local and indigenous farming families are the key to more sustainable land use and reducing deforestation.”

Wain Collen / Executive Director

Our Staff

Wain Collen

Executive Director

Paulina Rodriguez

Financial Manager

Gonzalo Torres

Programs Manager

Jorge Navarrete

M&E Coordinator

Uli Zebisch

Market specialist

Narcisa Puma

Program Coordinator - Andes

Manolo Samaniego

Production Specialist

Gerson Tapuy

Senior Promoter

Silvia Jaramillo

Administrative Assistant

Carolina López

Accountant

Alejandra Peña

Administrative Assistant - Amazon

Marcelo Tapuyo

Field Technician - Chocó

Gabriela Toapanta

Field Technician - Cloud forest

Field Promoters

Enma Alvarado

Sumak Yacu Promoter

Estela Grefa

Mondayacu Promoter

Maria Licuy

Sacha Laren Promoter

Ruben Tanguila

Jondachi Promoter

Patricio Gordón

Ruta Escondida Promoter

Javier Almeida

Cuzubamba Promoter

Luis Emilio Flores

Cuzubamba Promoter

Cindy Tuqueres

Guachinguero Promoter

Verónica Muenala

Azama Promoter

Ximena Flores

Cumbas Promoter

German Simarron

Guayacana Promoter

Victor Quinteros

Naranjal

Edgar Melchor

Comunidad Sabalito

Iver Añapa

Corriente Grande Promoter

Our Board

Rebecca Ruf / President

Sharelle Klaus

Frank Hicks

Kaia Ambrose

Stephen Sherwood

Kane Russell

Cecilio Solís

Emeritus Board Members

Tyler Gage

Community Partners

Corporate, Conservation & Research Partners

Funders

Our Story

In 2018, Runa Foundation and PlanJunto Ltda merged to form Aliados. Runa - led by Tyler Gage and Eliot Logan-Hines - created the first guayusa tea supply chain from scratch with 2,000 Amazonian indigenous farmers and Runa LLC. This pioneering experience showed the potential of fair trade supply chains to alleviate poverty and conserve forests. PlanJunto Ltda was a mission-based consulting business - founded and led by Wain Collen - building community-based enterprise in the Amazon. When Runa and PlanJunto merged to create Aliados, Wain Collen took over as Executive Director. The goal: take the experience with guayusa and community enterprise to more communities, products, and ecosystems and fundamentally change the way business is done in the Andes and Amazon ecosystems.

Since 2018, Aliados have expanded its work into three new threatened ecosystems: Andes-highlands, Andes-Amazon cloud forest, and Chocó cloud forest. We are also applying our model with many more communities and products: we are working with over 20 farming communities producing guayusa, wild jungle peanuts, macambo, coffee, cocoa, cinnamon, and lemongrass in the Amazon, porotón in the cloud forest; goldenberries, honey, botanicals, and a variety of Andean grains in the Andes; and cocoa in the Chocó. We are working with an ever-growing portfolio of responsible corporate partners under a shared vision of regenerative agriculture.

Now, in partnership with the IBD Lab and others, we are positioning Aliados' work for scale by implementing a first-of-its-kind innovation and investment hub in the Ecuadorian Amazon.

The journey continues!