Dr. Luis Fernando Sarango Macas, President of the Indigenous University of Ecuador, has extended a unique opportunity for a small group of interested individuals to visit and learn first-hand from three different Ecuadorian indigenous groups about their struggles for cultural preservation and efforts to protect the environment and Mother Earth herself. The three groups are: (1) The Quechua-speaking Peoples of the Andes; (2) The Saraguro, from Southern Ecuador; and (3) The Shuar from the Amazon.

The United Indigenous nations and peoples of Ecuador have been at the forefront of the struggle to preserve their cultural wisdom, promote "good living" as opposed to development, and protect the natural environment and Mother Earth - Pachamama. Ecuador was the first nation to adopt a constitutional amendment respecting Mother Earth, and the indigenous nations in the Ecuadorian Amazon have waged one of the largest class action suits for the environmental damage caused by oil exploration.

Jade Journeys Founder Dr. Skye Stephenson has been honored to help support the intercultural indigenous university of Ecuador - whose name Amawtay Wasi means "House of Wisdom" - for seven years. The University is linked to the Ecuadorian Indigenous Movement and had campuses in several indigenous nations and communities. Its programs include ancestral architecture, sustainable agriculture, intercultural education and intercultural health. The university is accredited by the Ecuadorian government but receives no federal funding.

On this journey you will we will also dialog with these indigenous leaders and activist about their vision for the future of Abya Yala - their name for the American continent - and how we can learn from their example about social change for a more sustainable and peaceful future.