The world is changing so fast that it seems incredible that some indigenous cultures of the Amazon have remained preserved for decades and centuries almost unchanged. What will happen to them if the world powers destroy the rainforest? Agustin Allpa Grefa is a descendant of the Kichua line of healers from Ecuador. Their culture is still an integral part of the rainforest ecosystem and has a very specific approach to community life and maintaining clean relationships inside and out that we could all learn from. Agustin found his soul mate, his wife Michaela, in the heart of Europe, and so he stayed here with us. Yet he is actively committed to preserving the Amazon's natural wealth and indigenous Indian culture. What does being an Indian mean to him? We suspect that it’s not all about DNA...
Agustin Allpa Grefa and his Czech wife are buying pieces of the Amazon rainforest so that it’s not ruined by ruthless miners. He grew up in the rainforest of Ecuador the traditional way, now unimaginable to many. His upbringing was extremely harsh from the European point of view; his stories seem as though from another world. As a talented child, he was chosen to follow in the footsteps of his ancestors and become a healer. Today, he has a Czech wife, two children, and is trying to preserve the traditions of the Kichua people. They founded a school in their community where they want to offer a modern education and also teach some natural wisdom of the elders. Through workshops, seminars and exchanges, they also help us Europeans remember how not to be a burden to our planet.
Read moreMichaela Grefa, co-founder of the organisation Life the Old Way. She is deeply interested in nature, the human body, herbs and traditional natural forms of healing.
Her husband is the Ecuadorian healer Agustin Allpa Grefa, they have two children together, are mostly at home in the Czech Republic and together create the project Život Postaru (Life the Old Way), which protects the Amazon rainforest against loggers and supports the functioning of the local tribal community. They are building a rainforest school and nursery for Indian children so that they can once again touch the vanishing knowledge and wisdom of their ancestors and be reminded of what it really means to be an Indian – a person of the heart.