Indigenous Enterprise Protecting the Amazon: The Story of Achuar Shakaim

Deep in the Peruvian Amazon, in the Loreto department bordering Ecuador and Colombia, indigenous Achuar communities have long relied on the forest for medicine, food, and cultural traditions. For generations, plants such as sangre de grado, aguaje, copaiba, and ungurahui have been used for healing, nourishment, and everyday life.
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Today, those traditions are also becoming the foundation for a sustainable economic opportunity.

Cooperativa Agraria Achuar Shakaim is a fully Indigenous-led cooperative that produces natural oils from these forest plants and connects them to growing markets for natural cosmetics and wellness products. Founded and governed by Achuar leaders, the cooperative operates as the commercial arm of the Achuar people’s national federation, creating a business that aligns with community priorities and traditional ecological knowledge.

The cooperative works with 100 Achuar families across remote river communities in the Amazon basin. Women represent about 60% of participants, and youth play an active role in production and leadership. By organizing harvesting, processing, and sales, the cooperative allows families to generate income from resources they have stewarded for generations.

Importantly, these products are non-timber forest products, meaning they are harvested without cutting down trees. Families collect fruits and resins from the forest using methods that follow natural ecological cycles, allowing trees and palms to regenerate. In this way, the cooperative turns standing forest into a sustainable economic asset.

Shakaim is also embedded in a broader landscape of environmental stewardship. The Achuar communities involved in the cooperative collectively protect over one million hectares of rainforest, helping defend their territory and rivers from deforestation and oil extraction.

The cooperative’s supply chain depends entirely on the Amazon river system. Oils harvested in distant communities are collected and transported by boat to the cooperative’s processing center in San Lorenzo. Shakaim owns two boats that travel these waterways, connecting producers with markets while navigating the logistical realities of the forest.

To support this work, the Reciprocity Fund recently provided a $20,000 loan to the cooperative. The financing allows Shakaim to purchase more oils from producers during peak harvest seasons, ensuring families receive prompt payment while enabling the cooperative to fulfill growing orders from natural product companies.

Enterprises like Achuar Shakaim demonstrate a powerful model for the Amazon: Indigenous-led businesses that generate dignified livelihoods while protecting the forest and strengthening community autonomy.

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