““I have known Dr Rocio Alarcon, Founder of Iamoe, for many years and I am a great admirer of her remarkable work in the Amazon. She is my teacher, my friend, and a wonderful emissary for the plants of the rainforest.” ”
THANK YOU gata…
Dr. Rocίo Alarcón is affectionately known amongst friends and colleagues as Gata (wild cat) or Ube (anaconda), probably due to her powerful fighting spirit and passion to protect the rainforests, preserve ancestral knowledge and traditions, and heal people through Curandero Science.
Rocio obtained her doctorate in Philosophy-Ethnopharmacology at University College London. As founder and director of IAMOE Center, she draws from 30 years plus of research, field work and hard-won experience to defend the birthright of future generations - the Great Amazon forest.
Rocίo specializes in subjects relating to healing ceremonies and master plants, as well as the use of plants as food and medicine, and in the art of weaving with natural fibers from plants to produce tools and useful items.
Rocίo's dream has been to find an area where plants and animals could be safe from human aggression and interference. She has sought to create a space where people, regardless of ethnicity or creed, could share their dreams, ideas and open dialogue to create networks of interaction and cooperation.
“WALK TOGETHER, PROTECTED BY THE RICH BIODIVERSITY THAT THE FOREST OFFERS, UNDER THE ONLY LEGACY OF THE LAND CALLED THE AMAZON.”
Twenty years ago, after a careful search, 50 hectares was purchased from a woman in Quito who was selling her land. Thus, the IAMOE Center was established. The name IAMOE refers to the Amazon Harpy Eagle, Harpia harpyja, in the native Huaorani language. Only six years ago, an additional 50 hectares was acquired from a neighbor to prevent him from selling to the oil companies, which many neighbors have done, drastically exterminating the most diverse area in the world.
At present, IAMOE Center is a small but exquisite patch of biodiversity in the buffer zone of the Yasuní National Park, thanks to the tireless work of Dr Rocio Alarcon and her team. It sets a shining example for its neighbors, and for the people of the country. Rocio’s way is teaching them to have the courage to maintain their lands with biodiversity, and to learn what the forest offers as a benefit for their local community, Ecuador, and the whole wide world.
Gratitude to you Gata!
You are loved and cherished by all who know you.
YOU CAN HELP ROCIO
We welcome support from folks who share Rocio’s dream to save her sacred part of the rainforest.