“Everything has an origin, a source. Everything has an order, and its place. Everything has a function, a reason to be. Everything is related, in mutual sustenance.” 

(Kogui ontology)

The Universal Foundation for Holistic Design (UFHD) is raising funds for an ecosystem recovery initiative that will return land to indigenous people that was expropriated by the state and given to settlers. As part of this initiative, we are building a network of self-sustaining biological reserves. We are proud to announce that we are close to our goal of purchasing and converting the first plot of land into a bio-reserve which will be returned to the stewardship of the Kogui. We are also working to achieve our larger strategic goal of building a network of reserves to protect integral zones.

Four tribes guard the heart of the world, The Kogui, Arhuaco, Kankuamo and Wiwa. This sacred land —also known as the Sierra Nevada De Santa Marta in Colombia— is an incredibly biodiverse and integral ecosystem. The Kogui have lived in relative isolation since the arrival of the Spanish in South America, keeping their rich traditions and profound work alive. They are opening up their knowledge and deep wisdom of the laws of nature so that their brothers and sisters, the other children of the Earth, may remember their ecological responsibility. 

The mission of the Guardians of the Heart is to care for Mother Earth and share their message of ecological harmony and natural order.

The loss of their territory has been detrimental in many ways to the health of the heart. The tribes respect all life and have chosen to deal with the matter in a peaceful and honorable way. The plan is to assess each farm and raise the necessary funds to buy it back at a fair price. They think of the farmers as brothers and sisters and want them to be able to live a good life. The farmer population is aging, and many are interested in selling. It is the perfect time to launch a major initiative to reclaim their ancestral territory. To maintain order, the tribes must have control over the sacred sites. They have a deep relationship with the earth and understand the nature of Complex Dynamic Ecosystems. Everything is interconnected and interdependent, and as such has purpose, functionality, and a reason to be. Due to this fundamental nature of reality, they can help maintain equilibrium from the heart of the world for the entire body of the earth. When the heart is healthy, all bodily functions are aided. 

It would cost trillions to build reserves in other parts of the planet and pay full-time workers to care, protect and remediate the ecosystems. The tribes of the Sierra have not forgotten the law of origin and will do this of their own free will. If one is still determining how to contribute to the common good, we can create the conditions necessary for the guardians to do what they are highly proficient at, earth care. 

We all have a part to play, however small or large.

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Systems are reflections of their creators. If, on a global level, we are taking from the earth without returning, the outcome is debt. Our species has been transitioning deeper into debt with our planet as we have based our society on extraction and consumption. The global monetary system, whose only necessary function is prosperity through wealth creation, is debt-based. In contrast, surplus-based systems, like those that have reached a level of reciprocity, require a higher degree of giving and receiving, a very different paradigm than that of taking and losing. To live in a regenerative based system, nothing should come at a debt.

The black line is a theoretical border created by the Kogui Mamas (Mamo in Spanish) to help convey the idea of the Heart of the World to the rest of humanity. Their ancestral territory, which encompasses integral ecosystems and sacred sites (are areas that are critical to how a planet functions) can be delineated by the black line. Although the tribes inhabited a much larger area before the arrival of the conquistadors, they are focusing efforts to reclaim the critical zone referred to as the Heart of the World. 

Members of our foundation have been working for nearly a decade on the ground to assess the situation and develop a strategy and system to help recover the territory. Much of the territory has been decimated for monoculture farming, mining and cattle. We are working together to return the land to the care of the four tribes and, where necessary, aid in recovering the ecosystems. 

Indigenous peoples account for only 5% of the world's population, but according to Australia's 2021 State of the Environment report, they care for 80% of the world's biodiversity. 

The cultures of the four tribes are based on principles of order and harmony. They ensure that, at the very least, 70% of their territory is left wild. Many of the older indigenous reservations in the Sierra preserve above 90%.

This project is an investment in the health of our planet which affects us all. Earth's ecosystems are interconnected and interdependent, thus this initiative is a chance to support all that supports us. We are in a critical environmental state, and the knowledge of ecological order and harmony, proven over millennia, has been preserved. The Kogui, Arhuaco and Wiwa have maintained their ancestral knowledge due to the protection of remote villages and a deep connection to their purpose in the cosmos. The responsibility to live responsibly and be a productive member of the Earth is all of ours. This project represents an opportunity to begin paying off the massive debt our species has incurred through industrialization and a profound misunderstanding of life’s interconnected and interdependent nature. We have amassed great wealth and technology. Now, it is time to pivot immediately and use our collective intelligence to become caretakers of our incredible home. 

We have been visiting farms around the Sierra and began surveying the highest priority lands in key ecosystems to acquire and return to their respective tribes. Further funding this initiative will assure the restoration and continued protection of the Heart of the World: one of the most vital ecosystems for the health of the Earth.

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This fundraiser is not about raising funds for some impoverished tribes that require our aid. They are not running an ecological debt like most nations. They are providing a service to the world and all of its members. The opportunity here is to join them in this work.