Cloud Forest Organics

Cloud Forest Organics is piloting recovery of pastures and degraded lands back into forests in the cloud forest of Ecuador, with a concentration of native, forgotten tree proteins and superfoods critical for reforestation that can be processed into delicious, vegan, wildlife safe alternatives, sequestering carbon and supplying the growing vegetable protein markets. Ecuador's cloud forest, despite its relatively small size, is considered the most biodiverse on Earth. 

To FICZ (think fix) our precious, vulnerable at-risk planet, there is no one-crop solution. Four pillars: 

• Food Security with forest-based ancient nutritious foods 
• Income Generation alternatives for ranchers and forest-based communities 
• Climate Crisis control with monitoring of soil- and tree-generated carbon sequestration
• Zoonotic Pandemic mitigation by monitoring endangered wildlife habitats 

Our pilot is nestled between 3 national parks in the high Amazon. With evidence-based results, the goal is to expand and replicate with neighboring landholders to restore this ecosystem.

Ecuadorian cloud forests are considered  the richest biodiversity
hot spot on the planet, with 15% of the world's plant species and  20%
of bird species (Rainforest Rescue 2020). The tropical Andes geography
is a global center of plant endemism (Kier et al. 2005; Morawetz and
Raedig 2007), and wildlife species endemism (Bush et al. 2007).

While cloud forests globally continue to be deforested, in Ecuador this problem is pronounced as over 20% of Eastern tropical forests have been cleared over the last 2 decades. Ecuador may have the most endangered endemic species in the world. In our project area, the Sumaco Biosphere Reserve has lost over 2% of forest cover per year from 2008 to 2013 (MAE-GIZ 2013), accelerated during the COVID pandemic, as farming interests  (livestock, logging, other agricultural production) clash with conservation to the detriment of forest cover and wildlife habitat. State budget cuts have led to continued reductions in park rangers.

 Water sources originating in this high Amazonian biome risk drying, while at-risk wildlife such as tapirs, bears and Andean eagles lose habitat. 

Without viable economic alternatives for the communities and landholders that live here, the cloud forests risk continued destruction.

Photo: our cloud forest pilot site

Cloud Forest Organics Solution in 100 seconds

Our solution is a productive, harvestable agroforestry system that includes community of practice farms, using only the endemic and native tree and plant species in the forest. Our system allows for wildlife habitat expansion, sustainable livelihoods, and forest recovery, using technology to monitor environmental impact and process food products from a biodiverse forest. 

Pilot requires biodynamic agricultural techniques to minimize external productive inputs, monitoring technologies and protocols, innovation in food labs for elaboration of cloud forest ingredients, and B2B marketing of cloud forest ingredients such as poroton and nogal, along with non-commercial, at-risk endemic trees prioritizing IUCN red-list species for ecosystem recovery.

Technologies include:

1. field camera traps and bioacoustics equipment for wildlife impact measurement (AI would help process results); 
2. GPS for georeferencing seedling sources for transformational land use with active involvement of communities; 
3. methodologies for measuring carbon impact; 
4. ancestral, organic and biodynamic technologies for environmentally sustainable, productive agroforestry; 
5. lab work to verify food safety and nutritional composition of novel cloud forest ingredients; 
6. and, food processing technologies for functional, high-value uses that enhance nutrition.

Community of practice is vital for shared knowledge-building and replication.

Photo: Caro and Narcisa leading community meeting June 12, 2021

Here is a video to hear perspectives of local pioneers.

Please also join our online community too:  Cloud Forest Organics on Instagram. We are growing organically and it's a space for ideas-sharing as we develop our project

Effective data-collection, successful pilot project execution, replication through production of  volumes of cloud forest super foods in a forest-like setting depends on community.  

Since the discovery of crude oil in 1967, this region began to be occupied by larger numbers of agricultural settler families and has become an important trade route between the Andes and Amazon. These factors have promoted a gradual process of land use change (Torres, et al 2018).

The total population within the area of interest (AOI) is roughly 10,000-15,000 living in a series of rural parishes (Baeza, Borja, Sardinas, Cuyuja, Linares Chaco, Cosanga). Most people in the region are of mestizo descent having migrated to the region from other parts of the Ecuadorian highlands. 

Properties are relatively large, ranging from 5-70 hectares with pasture for dairy cows being the dominant land use. 

Local landowners participate actively in this project from design through execution to evaluation in a Community of Practice (CoP) format and as primary actors undertaking restoration on their land. Firstly, farmers participate in project design providing input into objectives, and roles and responsibilities. Participating farmers receive integrated training on reforestation and conservation by an agroforestry expert and biologist, both already employed by the project. Farmers receive an agreed upon combination of seedlings and small nurseries will be provided for all participating landowners. The Cayambe-Coca National Park is also providing seedlings of target trees to the community. 

These communities are located in a critical conservation buffer area with very limited local identity created to leverage this unique geographic location. Alongside market development, the project will undertake awareness building events to build local interest and develop local identify for growing, consuming and promoting cloud forest foods critical for conservation. 

In order to provide future value for ecosystem recovery, the project is undertaking the risk of exploring and developing new food processing technologies of cloud forest superfoods. Through a cooperation agreement with the Equinoccial Technological University (UTE), project will continue bromatological studies, conduct plant DNA testing, and has already begun field testing in collaboration with national certification body AgroCalidad, part of the Ministry of Agriculture. 

As cattle ranching continues as an inefficient land use with extremely low density, the farmers who are participating in our pilot can afford to designate a portion of their lands for reforestation. Unlike a traditional agricultural extension model whose products are time-tested with a  confirmed market and clear market pathway (coffee, cacao, guayusa, golden berries, for example), our Proof of Concept phase tested potential market acceptance. We have received several Letters of Intent subject to compliance with standards, and are conducting a pre-feasibility study with a U.S. consultant for understanding the regulatory pathway and proceeding with record-keeping from the field to processing in accordance with established guidelines.

Though the work on our pilot site is the most difficult terrain and involves no cattle or milk production, which are the current principal economic drivers, this project offers a gradual paradigm shift from meat to vegetable protein production in a system that rebuilds the habitat rather than destroying it, with potentially high returns on wild-safe, native food products that truly build resilient ecosystems and protect wildlife habitat. 

We have diversified our main forest crops and are allowing secondary growth to emerge without interference (mucho of which also has commercial potential).

AgroCalidad will be analyzing and cataloguing these plants, such as the Amazon mint (zunfo) and medicinal plant (llantén) among many others yet to be identified, that are emerging spontaneously in our pilot site as our strategy to combat the invasive pasture grasses planted when the forests were cleared, already shows incredible promise. These may also have commercial potential and certainly are part of local culinary identity building. 

Please note our solution serves the incredibly diverse wildlife that lives in this area, and whose habitat is threatened. Here is a chart of the primary "beneficiaries" whose lives will be impacted - this is the list of the most visible species. Base line surveys continue as I write this (scientific team in field). According to the Center for Disease Control, 6 of 10 of modern diseases and  are wildlife-derived, meanwhile the United Nations confirms that deforestation and wildlife habitat loss is a major contributor to zoonotic diseases. We hope our new agroforestry paradigm that enables wildlife to remain in their natural habitat will help, albeit in a small way, to tackle one of the greatest health crises that has affected humanity.

Image: Primary wildlife species in Project site with IUCN status

We see the products -- high value, regenerative organic, wild-safe protein powders and ingredients -- as the visible tip of the iceberg to restoring all aspects of a threatened biome with large replication possibilities. Local communities in and bordering the national parks are the channel for expansion and replicability to garner impact. Economic opportunities are longer-term as tree crops, but the environmental necessity drives our core team. The local community is also looking to supplement these efforts with short-term native crops and agro-tourism.

This nutritional chart (1 oz. serving) provides insight into low carb, high protein tree legume porotón's potential:

In 2018-2019, we completed the proof-of-concept phase by addressing one questions: Would there be a global market for novel cloud forest foods such as porotón (Erythrina edulis) if grown large-scale intermixed with other native tree species? We ran favorable food trials locally with Ecuador's leading chocolatier, along with international sampling with lead food companies (with favorable results and letters of interest).

Here check out local customer responses, clicking these tabs:

 Local trial (1) - Proof of Concept Phase 

Trial phase (2) / re-release of cloud forest based foods

With these results, we are executing our pilot phase with 4 components: 

1. greenhouse and base camp up and running, planting on our pilot sites completed; 
2. continued food lab and culinary testing; 
3. community of practice launch with 30 community members; 
4. documenting all steps and building an online community. 

Photo: resident puma (don't worry, she's more afraid of you)

Traditionally, agroforestry models have been done either as tree mono crops or at best are multi-crop but include introduced commercial species, such as coffee and cacao. Wildlife, water source protection and enhancement, and carbon sequestration are central to our holistic solution. 

Our project is unique because we are developing a highly biodiverse agroforestry system exclusively  with native tree species critical for reforestation, wildlife habitat recovery and water protection. Innovation also comes from commercial products that are appeal to environmentally-concerned consumers.

Photo: Porotón Dessert Trilogy from Proof-of-Concept Point-of-Sale

Thinking beyond the  food system towards a resilient ecosystem means working with biologists,herpetologists and ornithologists who are conducting field research with publication opportunities well beyond the scope of the foods.

Our data-collection will help us create a harvestable agroforestry system that is wildlife-friendly, helping to reduce conflict between human economic activity and fauna. 

On the food development front, as we are developing culinary uses for novel foods, this involves experimental processing of the foods to maximize their functionality and health benefits. 

Photo: gelato experiment based on a form of poroton with exceptional shelf-life and easy exportability

Innovation is not only coming from our core team, but from forward-thinking community members with deep local knowledge and are excited to collaborate in this transition towards a resilient ecosystem on their lands. 

Rather than a top-down solution, ours is being developed with the Quijos valley community, respecting different approaches to forest recovery based on each family/land holder reality but with central ground rules that facilitate early adopters and evolution. Our beneficiaries, according to our community leaders, are the children and grandchildren, the future generations as we are buffer lands between the national parks. Awareness about fauna and flora endemism and climate change are central to the school curriculum as we are at the centre where these issues are palpable and impact of our decisions are amplified. 

In addition to our core team and collaborators (around 25), we have initiated Community of Practice with a team of about 50 family members, based on our budgetary limitations and focus on those who have shown proactive interest based on our surveys and personal visits. 

In 1-3 years I would anticipate this number to multiply 3-4 fold.

If you expand beneficiaries to include wildlife, we get into the 100s of species when considering mammals, amphibians and birds, and the hundreds of thousands of species when insects are included. We will have more exact numbers as project advances.

Our belief is that the number of people benefiting will grow over a longer time-horizon than 5 years.

Who's in?

Specific, measurable indicators include:

1. baseline data on wildlife in the Area of Interest (AOI), tracking changes by species, location over time

2. trees planted (not just numbers but varieties within each target species), mortality rates, and differenciation of different pest control and biological fertilization strategies

3. community participation (not just numbers but land area conversion of existing farms)

4. product development of target cloud forest foods in accordance with GRAS (generally regarded as safe) and novel food regulations and protocols

5. field technical results

6. data on changes in soil and carbon sequestration Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) over time

7. all these advances are being recorded, including use of audiovisual, for a visual record for dissemination.

This ambitious pilot should serve as a basis for improvements over decades, as a paradigm shift to bring back cloud forests and their critical importance for wildlife, for carbon sequestration, and for water source preservation. This documentation will allow for other initiatives to improve upon our work.

Full time (5)

Part-time  (5)

Contractors/workers: (5)

Others (participants, collaborators, volunteers): 30

Core team (left to right):

 Jaime Palacios - Biologist, joins after 8 years at Wildlife Conservation Society to lead team to develop baseline data and monitor wildlife and habitat. One of few scientist experienced with bioacoustics research in Ecuador. He has 20 years field experience, an international diploma in biostatistics (CATIE, Costa Rica) with numerous scientific publications. Nature lover.

Craig Leon - Project manager, A Harvard MBA  (agribusiness under mentor Ray Goldberg). Ecuador's first yellow honeydew exporter (1980s), co-founder of Andean Organics, Ecuador's first certified organic vegetable export business (early-1990s) with Vicente (below). Award-winning documentary film maker documenting all aspects of project to facilitate replication.

Carolyn Engel - Coordinator and Community of Practice Leader, has an M.Sc. in International Development (U. Edinburgh), with 7 years experience in  non-profit and community development. Caro is passionate about supporting the country's indigenous communities, and is an excel sheet wiz/de facto CFO with business experience.

Narcisa Puma - Agricultural Engineer - Agricultural Production Technologist, graduate of  Universidad Politécnica Salesiana in Cayambe.  15 years experience in agricultural development focused on socio-environmental and organizational responsibility.  Narcisa has successfully led a number of novel food production projects through Fundación Aliados, including goldenberry and jungle peanut production.

Vicente Torres, Agronomist - After studying Biodynamic Agriculture at the Institute of Kraaybeekerhof, Vicente has worked 30+ years (was agronomist with Craig at Andean Organics) in agroforestry and innovative organic agriculture techniques.  Vicente's is experienced creating forest-origin commercial products (extracting essential oils, flours, dehydrated medicinal plants and teas).

Our leadership team reflects the diversity of the cloud forest biome we aim to protect and recover. With an age range from 28-58, we bring to the project a mix of expertise, perspectives and races: black, mestizo, montubio, white, indigenous Quechua, with a range of nationalities as well: mostly Ecuadorian but we also hail from the US and South Africa. Our project coordinator, accountant, one of 2 agronomists, and the majority of community leadership, are women, and the scientific research/DNA is run by a female Ecuadorian scientist.

Our concept of inclusion takes into consideration the wildlife and the flora, all at-risk from human activity. Ecuador's constitution recognizes the rights of nature, and so do we. No doubt, our weekly meetings are heated, as diversity brings lively debate! For example, Jaime our biologist, provides passionate perspectives with the fauna as his priority, while Carolyn (who is our de facto CFO managing financial spread sheets with aplomb) reminds us to be respectful and tolerant of those who continue to deforest, insisting that we need to take the risk first and develop and prove viable alternatives and to remain non-judgmental with those who see wildlife as a plague, which is not always easy!

The project prioritizes biodiversity in the field, and our multi-cultural team with a mix of racial and experiential backgrounds provides us with a wealth of inputs and ideas that are critical for long-term viability and success.  Community participants have a diverse set of backgrounds.

Being part of the Solve community would aid in the success of our ambitious yet necessary project.

While our fundraising efforts have been successful,  being part of the MIT Solve community would provide incredible opportunities for sharing ideas and collaborating with others who are innovative and seeking sustainable, tech-assisted solutions to some of the world's most complex problems.

Additionally, being selected would provide potential donors with greater confidence that the Cloud Forest Organics concept, having been reviewed by a panel of judges with diverse experience and knowledge, is fund-worthy!

As surely you have noticed in reviewing this application, our aims are multifaceted but the central goal is to restore the cloud forest ecosystem. We have a great team and we continue to garner support from leading institutions, but we have a long way to go! The mentoring and networking opportunities will be appreciated.

While when one looks at the number of questions to answer, when busy actually implementing a project, one could think why bother, the odds are low. However, even if we are not selected, I believe this application process provides an interesting framework to flesh out the concepts of the project, and identify our weaknesses and areas where we need additional support. It has helped me to ask better questions, and seek support in areas that were deficient.

Finally, as the project is mult-faceted, the MIT grant would provide some flexibility to cover essential project areas that are not in the wheelhouse of our current and prospective donors.

Business model -- current options do not quite fit our goals. Would like to review best model to evolve our hybrid non-profit - commercial model without compromising central environmental focus, and to hardwire conservation into the model.

PR - broadening our network and assistance with an improved social media strategy.

M&E - need support measuring impact, our data collection is extensive and could be larger and and even more ground breaking. We've identified potential partners for this, and would hope budget will allow further collaboration.

Technology - AI and machine learning particularly for measuring impact on wildlife and insects.

There is much we could learn from MIT faculty and initiatives:

Caroline Jaffe, Research Asst. Low Cost Soil Carbon saving

Jerry Melillo and Elisabeth Gribkoff, Soil Sequestration research (MIT Climate Portal)

CC&ST program, MIT

Mark Lim, Bambara Milk, Solver Team

Rabobank's Agri3 Fund Technical Assistance Facility seems particularly interesting and well-matched to our goals as we move forward.

According to the UNHCR, "Refugees are people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country."

While Ecuador has about 5,000 Venezuelans registered as refugees, the actual number of Venezuelans who have migrated into Ecuador with illegal border crossing is estimated between 400,000-500,000, most without passports. Many skilled Venezuelans find themselves working in areas that do not reflect their skill set because of a lack of opportunity. Our project has benefitted from the Venezuelan talent pool, in areas from film assistance to experimental product development, while others have shown great interest in helping our initiative. The Andean cloud forests indeed extend to Venezuela, and a number have experience with the target forest crops we are working with, such as Erythrina edulis (porotón) which is well-known in Venezuela.  

Another group that could be considered refugees are the wildlife, whose home is displaced by farming, cattle grazing and human economic activity. According to Ecuador's constitution which respects the rights of nature, this fauna community is being included in our solution and merits consideration.

While the abundance of wildlife on our experimental project site of  60 hectares is fantastic to see, it is also a concern as their safe havens disappear with habitat loss.

 As our project aims to rebuild their home, in conjunction with the farming communities that have displaced them. 

If the prize is for creating smart, safe and sustainable communities around the world, I think our project as described throughout this application would show the perfect fit.

Smart: There is already so much local knowledge around the incredible plant diversity. With the assistance of Jocotoco Foundation (our grant to cover this was approved last week by the Franklinia Fond, Switzerland), our community members will be trained in identifying and georeferencing IUCN red list plants, for replication as part of the ecological rebuilding in one of the most biodiverse biomes on Earth where our project is based.

Safe: We are building productive solutions that protect the clean, pristine water sources that emerge from the cloud forest and provide drinking water to the communities and neighboring cities and towns, including the Capital City Quito. Health is directly tied to clean water supplies. We are also creating a community that provides safety to the at-risk wildlife that inhabits this area, such as the critically endangered Andean eagle, which continues to be hunted.

Sustainable: Our project helps local farmers and cattle ranchers transition into higher-yielding, environmentally based production systems. Our community of practice activities include expertise in more efficient animal husbandry, to reduce the acreage of cattle and continued encroachment into forest lands, with production of high-value, ecological foods - porotón, lucuma and nogal, along with other organically produced foods for more efficient and ecologically-focused land management, while respecting wildlife habitat.

Women are driving change in the community and are part of our core team. With these funds we could incorporate more women community members to lead our research, reforestation and scientific exploration efforts. 

In a community that has traditionally been cattle ranching, our community of practice meetings are showing leadership for change from women. 

The Innovation for Women Prize would also be used to bring our current DNA researcher, a female scientist, on board in a larger capacity to lead our scientific research in the lab on novel foods.

The idea of developing digital workflows into our complex systems-based solution of cloud forest recovery and carbon absorption monitoring through a productive agroforestry system, is an area that would provide great benefit.

While carbon absorption is known to be particularly effective from native and endemic tree species, our model is particularly well-adapted because all our productive species are native tree species intercropped with other at-risk, carbon-capturing trees (white and black cedros, motilón, wax palms, and other species as per guidance from experts from Franklinia and the Jocotoco Foundation).

Equally or perhaps even more interesting, is the growing scientific awareness that cloud forest soils are particularly critical for carbon absorption, yet these are being eroded by current farming practices. At Cloud Forest Organics, we are developing innovative, organic techniques for conquering the invasive, introduced pasture grasses with endemic plant cover, rebuilding soils that are able to capture carbon. This grant would greatly help us in this work!

Given we are operating in the cloud forest with communities around us, and cloud forests are particularly important for capturing carbon. The Cloud Forest Organics project model is specifically aimed to do just this.

We would also like to collaborate with MIT's CC&ST program.

Our project is about building a carbon-negative agroforestry system, and so I believe we are well aligned to help ServiceNow execute its mission.  

Let us serve as your wonderful test model in the Amazon cloud forest, we will do Fred Luddy proud!

As described in our application, AI and machine learning is critical for processing the enormous amount of data being collected and that could be collected, from our camera traps which take thousands of images and our bioacoustic equipment where the sounds of the amphibians, birds and insects in the cloud forest of Ecuador, let alone the rest of South America have not been catalogued for analysis.

I cannot think of a more existentially invaluable use of AI than the use of wildlife tracking. With this support we would be able to track base line data and changes in the primary forest, buffer areas and the fully degraded areas, and measure these changes over time. This evidence-based research can be done effectively only with AI because of the quantity of data collected.

Such efforts are underway in North America, but in the South America and in the cloud forests where you have the highest level of biodiversity and plant and fauna endemism and where these tools would be most useful, there is no work being done to this regard.

GSR as the lead trading firm in the cryptocurrency ecosystem, will see its prize used for restoring the high Amazon cloud forest ecosystem! Our team would love to welcome Cristian, Richard, Nim, Gilberto, Jakob, Anthony, Trey, Davide and the others from GSR to see first-hand our work (bring rubber boots and walking sticks!)

For contributing to a sustainable world, please consider our project - it is a groundbreaking paradigm, something you are all familiar with in the crypto space.

Given the scope of our work, the project involves a range of technologies from the field to the lab.

We also see blockchain as critical to the future development of this truly ecological model for food production, as we track the unique carbon-negative products through the value chain and provide B2B customers with documented records that the products they are incorporating and offering the public have complied not only with the most stringent standards (organic, fair trade) but assurance of being wild-safe and other values traditionally not considered but which can be documented.

Whether or not you consider us for the prize, an opportunity to meet virtually would be amazing, to discuss prospects for an environmental crypocurrency, one that assigns carbon, reforestation, wildlife preservation and water restoration with a value.