Amigos de Iracambi

Iracambi is a community of people across the world whose vision is to see Brazil's beautiful Atlantic Forest restored, with prosperous communities in a flourishing landscape. Our motto is Saving Forests and Changing Lives and we invite you to join local and international students and volunteers at the Iracambi Rainforest Research Center to gain firsthand experience in reforestation, regenerative agriculture, medicinal plants, community outreach and sustainable living. We’re planting native and productive tree species to increase incomes, protect water sources and increase habitat for biodiversity. We're collecting forest seeds, preparing and caring for young seedlings, planting them out and monitoring progress. Our polyculture plots combine native trees with a variety of crops, providing green manure, healthy food, and high quality shade-grown coffee. We're cataloging medicinal plants, researching traditional uses, and experimenting with natural products incorporating plant extracts.

That’s all about saving forests – so what about changing lives? Here’s where we work with local farmers, school kids, volunteers and visitors on outreach programs designed to raise awareness of the important issues of how to live sustainably, and how to encourage more and more people to join us exciting task of protecting one of the most important forests in the world.

The Iracambi logo shows what we are all about. The Brazilian story goes that the forest is on fire and all the animals are fleeing to safety. All except for the humming bird who is flying towards the fire with a drop of water in her beak. “Silly little bird,” says the eagle as he looks down at her. “Don’t you realize that you’ll never put the fire out all by yourself?” “You’re right,” says the humming bird. “I know I can’t do it by myself. But I’m doing my part.”

We’ve been doing our part since 1999, and with your help we’ll be here as long as it takes. Come join us, and be part of the change!