W skrócie
Location: Ecuador
Impact Areas: Suppliers, Environment, Cultural Conservation and Forest Restoration
People Supported: Small Producers, Indigenous Peoples
Joined NESsT Portfolio:
2025
O przedsiębiorstwie
Ally Guayusa is a Kichwa-led association founded in 2018 in the Ecuadorian Amazon. It brings together Indigenous community members who cultivate Amazonian fruits and products using traditional knowledge and organic practices.
Originally formed to meet local demand for guayusa – a sacred Amazonian plant rich in nutrients – Ally Guayusa has expanded both its members and products. Today it supports the livelihoods of approximately 100 Kichwa producers, close to half of whom are women. The association provides stable incomes in a sector often dominated by exploitative middlemen. By guaranteeing fair prices and formalizing partnerships with producers, it transforms subsistence farming into a sustainable, dignified source of income.
Ally Guayusa collects and exports organic guayusa (Ilex guayusa), peanuts (Arachis hypogaea), macambo (Theobroma bicolor), and plantain (Musa paradisiaca). These products, which are grown using the ancestral chakra farming system rooted in sustainable land use and agroforestry models that actively regenerate the rainforest, reach local markets as well as those in Europe and Latin America. Ally Guayusa manages approximately 400 hectares of land following these sustainable practices, with a focus on polyculture, regenerative agriculture, and ancestral knowledge.
Ally Guayusa demonstrates how Indigenous entrepreneurship can scale traditional knowledge into sustainable economic opportunities. By linking Kichwa producers to premium markets for guayusa, peanuts, and other ancestral crops, while maintaining organic certification and the chakra farming system, the association strengthens both cultural identity and livelihoods. Its success in supplying international buyers proves the viability of Indigenous-led agroforestry models.
Rezultaty i wpływ
100%
Indigenous management team, currently training 6 youth (4 women) in leadership and entrepreneurship
45%
women producers across 95+ Indigenous suppliers, with formal contracts ensuring stable income
60%
household income contribution for Kichwa families through sustainable chakra farming
“With NESsT’s support, we have strengthened our operational capacity by ensuring immediate payments to producers and the sustainable purchase of raw materials such as peanuts, plantains, macambo, and guayusa. This partnership has also enhanced our marketing strategies, enabled us to acquire specialized software, and secured our organic certification. As a result, we have elevated the quality, traceability, and sustainability of Ally Guayusa, making a real impact on the local economy and the preservation of ancestral knowledge. Together, we are building a stronger future for our Indigenous communities, transforming each guayusa leaf into hope, employment, and pride for our Amazon. ”
Inwestycja NESsT
Having established itself as a model of Indigenous-led sustainable agriculture, Ally Guayusa joins the NESsT Amazonia portfolio to strengthen its operations and expand its market reach while preserving its cultural and environmental mission.
NESsT its regional partner, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of the Ecuadorian Amazon (CONFENIAE) will support the association in formalizing commercial relationships with key clients and diversifying its client portfolio, while enhancing financial systems to manage growing international demand. NESsT portfolio managers will also support Ally Guayusa to use impact measurement tools to quantify its conservation of primary forest and empowerment of women producers.
Ally Guayusa will use NESsT’s investment as working capital to purchase raw materials from its producers, allowing it to both increase the number of suppliers it supports and secure new business opportunities. Additionally, the association will use the resources to obtain organic and Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) certifications as a crucial step in accessing new markets.
Through targeted workshops, NESsT will work with Ally Guayusa to strengthen its ancestral chakra farming system and enhance its governance as it scales beyond its current 100 producers. This support will allow the association to increase production of its jungle peanuts and macambo while maintaining its commitment to organic practices and cultural preservation.