Here is video of Flavio addressing the thousands of party-goers, dancers, artists, entertainers, space enthusiasts, and scientists – and playing his traditional Ecuadorian flute from the jungle. Enjoy!

Flavio getting ready to go on stage to jam with Hamsa Lila!

Over the weekend co-founder Shalaco Sching and I took all of the online/web suggestions we’ve received and built them out into a single page. That now stands as the “Home” page. The new blog which you’re reading now will be the place to get all of the up-to-the minute information about the 300 Acres project.

We’re enthusiastic about all of the opportunities coming up in the next 30 days. Stay tuned – follow us on Twitter and Facebook.

Latest Stats:

Our Map of Trees (representing donors who have given $50 or more) has received over 53,000 views! (see below)

Donations come in from all over the world: England, Australia, Canada, and all over the U.S. from Washington to New York!

We’re raising more funds on Razoo than Paypal – which means we’ll incur few fees for transferring the money out.

View 300 Acres in a larger map

Today we received a letter from an 8th grade girl in Santa Cruz, California who recently met Flavio Santi (inspiration for the 300 Acres project) when he visited her school.

Here is her letter in it’s entirety -

Flavio Santi recently came to my school. Nature Academy, a charter school for grades 6, 7 and 8. He shared about living his life in the Amazanga community in the Ecuadorian rain forest. He played his home made wooden flute for our class. I enjoyed that. Through his music it is very clear to me he is connected to spirit.

He told us the long history of how (mostly American) oil companies and mining companies have been coming into their country and destroying the sacred land. How the water and air becomes polluted by the process of extruding the oil and minerals.
I would think that the people in power would have learned from the past mistakes that have been made in history. For example the Native American Indians. They have lost most of their land and original culture.

I feel very sad for the people in Ecuador. They should not have to buy the land that was originally the land their ancestors cared for and guarded, and is sacred to their people. Flavio’s people never claim to “own” the land. They are guardians of the earth. That is what we all need to be! This entire true story is based on greed. I do not understand how big companies have the right to just go in and take sacred ancestral land and then destroy it.

I am very happy to have met Flavio Santi…I call him my friend and I believe in his mission. He is an excellent messenger. He gives me hope.

Emma Drejes
Grade 8
Nature Academy

ForestEthics exists to protect Endangered Forests, wild places, wildlife, and human wellbeing. Our innovative, inspiring and effective campaigns challenge corporations and catalyze environmental leadership in industry, governments and communities. Our work creates solutions that last for generations to come and emphasizes addressing climate change, which compromises all of our efforts if left unchecked

Thanks ForestEthics.
Thanks to everyone of our supporters, from all over the world. This week alone we have had supporters from Switzerland, Germany, England, Australia, as well as from all over the United States!

Thank you all so very much. Every donation from $5-$150 is a step towards empowering the indigenous peoples in Ecuador to preserve their riches and expand the School of Guayusa. For all of this we are incredibly grateful.

To date we’ve raised $7,640!!

It has been so incredibly inspiring to see a forest of supporters sprouting up on our map over the last two weeks!

If you would like to lend your support head over to Razoo where we can accept donations without being charged service fees. And please continue to help us spread the word. We have made leaps and bounds towards our goal but we still have a long way to our overall goal of $70,000. Share Flavio Santi’s message that “we can change our attitude in the way that we look at developing nature.”

~Shålaco

Denise Zmekhol whose film Children of the Amazon has won numerous Best Picture and Best Documentary awards, had the opportunity to interview Flavio – that of which is seen here for the first time. Her editorial staff got the video to us as soon as possible (huge thanks to them!), and 300 Acres co-founder Shalaco Sching posted the video with subtitles (thanks to dear friend Miranda Reyna-Metzler who translated the video).

I’m sure you’ll be inspired by his immersive storytelling, the stunning photos of his people and the Amazanga land, as well as the delightful instrumental music from his native land. Whether you’re acquainted with the Spanish language or not, you’re sure to feel the depth and breadth of his mission – to protect the lands of the Quichua people, and the plea to people everywhere to collaborate in order to save our Earth for future generations.

(Flavio Speaking….)

Our new total is – $4,465.30!

The total thus far is a cumulative total of our outreach on Razoo.com, our mobile transaction outreach on Square, and our 300acres.com ChipIn donations. I wish there was a way to show it all in the ChipIn but unfortunately it’s not possible.

Here are the best ways to donate and spread the word about the 300 Acres project:

Donate via the website – Click on the ChipIn widget on any page (upper right hand corner) and donate directly to our Paypal account

Donate via Razoo.com – This donation will be made directly to our non-profit partner Natural Villages on our behalf

Also join us on Facebook and Twitter to share the word about your passion for saving 300 acres of the rainforest in 30 days!

Ex-coworker and friend Jordan Alperin was the first person to make the case and connection for me to work with Square to raise funds quickly and easily for 300 Acres. He pointed me to Cameron Walters, friend and co-founder of Square who was out last night at SXSW raising funds for a charity focused on creating clean water for communities. I was ecstatic when Cameron bestowed the credit card device, however  one boundry stood in my way of accepting donations quickly… I didn’t have an iPhone or an iTouch.

So I spent some time this morning at the AT&T store, got myself an iPhone – and in less than an hour’s time I raised $81.00 with my Square device.

3/15 Update: Our grand total raised through Square is now over $500!

Square is a game-changing company and their technology is well done, their customer interface is excellently designed, and every person who contributes to 300 Acres using Square has walked away with a smile!

Thanks Square!

Natalie Villalobos

• Your donation will go towards securing 300 acres of pristine rainforest for the Amazanga people. This land  was seized from them in the 1940’s by the Ecuadorian government and *this* is their chance to get it back!

• Your donation will also go towards helping the Amazanga people achieve their vision of developing their natural medicine school in a pristine part the jungle that is accessible to the elders that are the teachers and holders of the forest’s sacred wisdom. In this way, the indigenous people of this part of the Amazon will have a place to truly protect and share their culture, traditions and ancestral wisdom. With such an incredible and accessible forest as its base, the School of Guayusa will be able to host healers, teachers and students from throughout South America and the world, uniting communities and preserving natural healing traditions for future generations.

Another question we’ve been getting is “What’s at Stake?”…

• Without the sufficient funds this land will be sold to a group of investors from Ambato, Tungurahua. This sacred land is under severe threat of gold mining, logging and development. If the land fell to this group then the land would most likely be divided – which is explicitly against the wishes of the Amazanga people.

I really wish I could bring the total up on our Chip In widget to make this more apparent, but I can’t… so I’ll just total it up here:

OUR TOTAL THUS FAR IS  – $3055!

Thanks All,

Natalie Villalobos
Founder of 300 Acres

From today until Tuesday March 16th I’ll be attending the SXSW Conference in Austin. If you’d like to chat about fundraising or marketing opportunities, or if you just want to meet and have tea – contact me directly via email or on Twitter @nataliaenvy.