Runa is an international organization dedicated to facilitating sustainable development and cultural preservation for indigenous communities in the Ecuadorian Amazon. We are a social enterprise committed to a triple bottom line mission of creating environmental, social, and economic benefits for an international network of stakeholders. Plants and teas have always served as central points of relationship between people, cultures, and lived environments, and we believe that respectful sharing of goods, traditions, and knowledge, is a natural and powerful way to grow sustainably as a global society in harmony with the Earth.
The word “Runa” means "person” or “fully living human being” in the Kichwa language, and we have chosen this name to represent our company's commitment to realizing a new dream of living responsibly, collaboratively, and intelligently as an international human community. While “Runa” is a term of immense pride, identity, and spiritual vitality for the Kichwa people themselves, in modern Ecuadorian society, “Runa” is a word that has become a disrespectful and racist slur that signifies “stupid and worthless.” Our organization’s goal is to revalorize indigenous cultural identity, traditions, and plant knowledge on an international scale, by carrying Runa as the brand name for all our products and as a symbol of our commitment to living fully as humans. - Learn More>
In 2010, the Runa Foundation paired with the Heritable Innovation Trust to document the experiences of the Kichwa community involving Runa's guayusa project.
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