CAE – Amazon em português
The Casa de Apoio aos Estudos da Floresta (Rainforest Studies Support Center) - CAE – Amazon was purchased, renovated and inaugurated in 2009 as the fruit of an initiative of the anthropologist Bia Labate and with the support of journalist Débora Pereira. It is located in the Brazilian Amazon, in the Santo Daime community of the Centro Eclético Flor do Lotus Iluminado – CEFLI, led by Luiz Mendes Nascimento, in the Capixaba District (Acre), on the banks of the Xipamano River (on the border between Brazil and Bolivia).
The Casa was created with the following objectives:
- to serve as a base for the investigations of the researchers;
- to serve as a space for the cultural and scientific dialogue between researchers from various specialty areas who are interested in Amazonian studies;
- to promote the access of the ayahuasquero community to the academic production on the Brazilian ayahuasca religions;
- to stimulate the written and visual documentation of the Daimista culture and the caboclo traditions by the local population;
- to develop exchanges between the different groups that use psychoactive plants;
- to promote the interaction of the local community with national and transnational environmentalist networks;
- to reflect upon the possibilities of using the social capital of the rainforest for sustainable development and biodiversity conservation in the region.
The CAE – Amazon has begun to assemble a small library, and it hosted in August 2009 an experimental expedition of European researchers in the areas of psychology and medicine. Starting in 2010, new events will be held, including talks, the making of documentaries and the reception of new visitors.
For those who are interested in getting to know the space, to visit or to help with its development and maintenance, please contact cae.amazon@bialabate.net (or fill out the contact form bellow). We especially welcome the visits of persons engaged in research in the region, as well as foreigners who are actively involved in the fields of anthropology, ecology, spirituality and therapeutic practices. Donations for the library and suggestions are also welcomed.
(*) We thank Edson Alexandre and Roberto Goulart for their help in the Casa’s renovation.
