Emflores is an organized group of woman from a small village in the Purus National Forest of Brazil that was formed in July 2007. These women came together with a goal of finding solutions to overcome some of the challenges that their community faces.

Their first gathering in 2007 resulted in the General Kitchen project, which was completed in 2012. The women of Emflores created a work structure by which the kitchen now operates. Many of the Emflores women work in the kitchen.

The kitchen/cafeteria has become not just a place to get healthy, affordable meals, but a central location for villagers and visitors alike to share in a strong sense of community. The Emflores women’s intention is to expand the kitchen project to include a co-op that will sell homemade preserves and foods from their gardens.

Centro Medicina da Floresta (CMF) has been dedicated to the research and preservation of the Amazon rainforest and the health of its people since 1989. In 1997, CMF was incorporated in Brazil as a Non-Governmental Organization.

Since then CMF has expanded its mission, developing partnerships not only in the Amazon region but also throughout Brazil and the world.

CMF researches and catalogues over five hundred plant species from a diverse array of forests (e.g., "virgin" forests, recovered forests, and cultivated gardens). From these sources CMF replants native species in degraded areas of the forest, and cultivates and maintains gardens with plants that are used in medicinal formulas.

CMF is the sole producer and distributor of natural and traditional medicines in a small village in the Purus National Forest. These remedies are provided free of cost to impoverished families in the region who have no alternative access to medicine. CMF also places a strong emphasis on education, providing children’s education programs on Amazonian plant species and their preservation, internships for youth, and free training for health practitioners. Florais da Amazonia is a line of floral essences from the Amazon created by Maria Alice and Isabel Faccinni Barsé and produced at CMF.

To order Florais in the US: CLICK HEREFlorais da Amazônia web site: www.floraisdaamazonia.com.br

The Santa Casa de Cura, or "Holy House of Healing," is a hospital located in a remote village in the heart of the Amazon Rainforest. It was established because of the need for a centralized location for healing treatments and natural therapies to be provided to the sick and needy in the region. People come from all over the state of Amazonas to receive treatment there. The Santa Casa is dedicated to sustaining the basic public healthcare needs of its community and of the surrounding region.

As one of the sole healthcare providers for the community, the hospital delivers a broad range of healthcare services, and functions primarily as a charitable institution; all services are free of charge. The hospital also aids in providing accommodation and transportation for patients if necessary. It assists with births, treats ailments such as fractures, traumas, snake and spider bites, bruises and burns, and treats diseases such as dengue fever, malaria, hypertension, and the most prevalent strains of tropical illnesses.

Patients are treated using natural medicines made by Centro Medicina da Floresta (CMF). The Santa Casa also functions as a school for teaching young people about using plant remedies and preserving the knowledge of traditional ways of healing. Clara Shinobu Iura has directed the Santa Casa de Cura with a board of women since 1999. Through her capacity as a highly developed and experienced shaman and spiritual healer, she functions as one of the main healers of the community. Clara is a member of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers.

Mä Creative is a New York–based organization that focuses on projects that interrelate with the arts, culture and spirit. Mä is currently producing "Grandmothers Wisdom: Reverence For All Creation," a multimedia book project recording the life story of each member of the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers. Mä Creative Inc. and Floresta Project collaborate on fundraising projects for the International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers.

Marisol Villanueva is the Director of Mä Creative Inc. Since the mid-1990s, Marisol’s work has been dedicated to photographing Indigenous people, their threatened ways of life, and their endangered habitats on self-assigned projects and in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution.

www.macreativeinc.com