Author: Elli

Purpose drink

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Introducing Purpose

We’re thrilled to announce a beautiful collaboration: the Purpose Drink, a non‑alcoholic, organic functional beverage created in partnership with De Frisdrankfabriek, is now supporting frontline Nature Defenders through Treesistance.

The world doesn’t need more products — it needs ones with purpose.

Purpose Drinks is born from that belief. Infused with select Amazonian super-fruits, it’s designed to lift your mood and nourish your body. And with every bottle sold, a portion goes directly to support Indigenous forest guardians working to protect the Amazon. What makes this partnership different is how seamlessly intention is built into every step — from sourcing to impact. Purpose Drinks is crafted with organic ingredients, ethical production, and a mission to support the forest guardians on the ground.

As Purpose Drinks begins to reach more hands and shelves, we invite you to be part of the journey. Whether it’s sharing the story, tasting the product, or supporting the cause — every action helps build a movement where wellbeing and justice go hand in hand.

Find your purpose — one sip at a time.

Read more at www.purposedrinks.com 

Follow on Instagram here

And place your order here

New Partnership with Jacobs Futura

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Treesistance is proud to announce a new partnership with the Jacobs Foundation’s Futura Program, through their Rainforest Grants initiative. Together, we are working on An Indigenous Roadmap For Effective Forest Conservation in Brazil.

Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon is not only one of the biggest environmental challenges of our time — it is also overwhelmingly illegal. Around 90% of forest loss happens outside the law, often in Indigenous territories that remain vast but under-protected. Yet most conservation efforts continue to treat it as a biological or social issue, overlooking a crucial truth: this is also a crime problem.

Treesistance is different. By applying crime science and situational crime prevention techniques, we work hand in hand with Indigenous communities to strengthen their ability to protect their territories. This approach doesn’t replace Indigenous knowledge — it complements and amplifies it, providing tools that guardians can use alongside generations of lived expertise.

Through this new partnership, Treesistance will collaborate with Indigenous territories across the Brazilian states of Pará, Amazonas, and Mato Grosso to protect more than one million hectares of primary rainforest and Cerrado. This includes the self-demarcation of five territories in the Lower Tapajós region of Pará, the development of access-to-justice strategies in TI Andirá-Marau (789,000 hectares) and TI Pimentel Barbosa (329,000 hectares), and the organisational strengthening of Indigenous leadership and coordination — foundations that are vital for the long-term success of each territory.

The Jacobs Foundation’s Futura Program contributes not only financial support, but also visibility and long-term partnership — helping to amplify Indigenous leadership and connect local guardians with international networks.

At its heart, this project is about amplifying Indigenous leadership. By ensuring that conservation strategies are guided by those who live in and depend on the forest, we not only protect territory — we build resilience, self-determination, and justice.

For Treesistance, this collaboration marks another step in scaling our model — linking grassroots defenders of the Amazon with global partners who share the vision of protecting forests not as commodities, but as living, breathing sources of life.

2 Years of Treesistance

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2 Years of Treesistance

Two years ago, Treesistance was created out of an urgent need: to stand beside Indigenous communities who face violence and threats every day for defending the Amazon. What began in 2023 as a small initiative has grown into a global movement rooted in solidarity, courage, and Indigenous leadership.

What makes Treesistance different is simple

It is Indigenous-led at its core. Forest guardians are not an “add-on” to conservation — they are the strategy. By putting their knowledge, their leadership, and their daily realities at the center, we ensure that protection of the Amazon is effective, just, and sustainable.

This approach is built on four strategic pillars:

Territorial defence — equipping forest guardians with the tools and training they need to patrol and protect their lands.

Monitoring and research — gathering data and evidence to confront environmental crime and support legal action.

Community empowerment — strengthening education, health, and local economies to build long-term resilience.

International solidarity — connecting Indigenous struggles in the Amazon with allies, funders, and movements around the world.

Two years in, this model is already proving its impact. Forest guardians in Maró are carrying out daily patrols, monitoring illegal logging with GPS cameras, and keeping their territory safe. Our track record includes training dozens of new guardians, building partnerships with universities and NGOs, and raising funds that directly support equipment, transport, and security for the defenders on the ground.

This work is resonating far beyond the Amazon. In June 2025, Chief Dadá Borarí became the first Indigenous laureate of the Prix Voltaire sustainability award, a moment of recognition that symbolised the courage of all those who continue to resist. At the same time, Treesistance has seen new founders, funders, and partners join us. They are inspired by the clarity of our mission: that forest protection must be Indigenous-led, and that solidarity is not a slogan but a practice.

Looking ahead, our focus is on scaling this model to new territories, building deeper alliances, and growing a support base that ensures guardians can continue their work with safety and dignity.

Two years of Treesistance have shown what is possible when Indigenous leadership is placed at the center. We are humbled by the resilience of the guardians and grateful for everyone who has walked with us on this path. This is only the beginning — and together, we will continue to resist.

The Forest is a Source of Life

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In June, Chief Dadá Borarí travelled from the heart of the Brazilian Amazon to the Netherlands — not just to receive an international sustainability award, but to continue building the global alliances needed to protect his people and the forest they call home.

For over two decades, Dadá has led the resistance against illegal deforestation in the Maró territory, a 42,000-hectare region near the Tapajós River where several Indigenous communities live. The land is legally protected, but that hasn’t stopped large timber companies from trying to extract what they call green gold.

What Dadá and his people see is something else entirely: life, medicine, water, knowledge — a forest that cannot be reduced to profit.

A quiet presence with a powerful message

Chief Dadá came to the Netherlands with a clear purpose: to share his story, connect with allies, and strengthen the collaboration between his community in the Amazon and the growing Treesistance movement.

During his time in Amsterdam, he spoke about the realities on the ground in Maró and the daily work of the forest guardians who protect their territory from illegal deforestation. Together with Treesistance, he is helping expand this model of Indigenous-led forest protection across the region — through training, technology, and international solidarity.

A long path of resistance

Dadá’s resistance began in 2004, when the first illegal logging crews entered his territory. What followed were years of escalating threats, violence, and attempts to silence him.

In 2006, Dadá was kidnapped and tortured for refusing to allow the forest to be cleared. He was found unconscious, strung between two trees. A year later, his house was burned, his dogs poisoned. Today, he lives under a national security program in Brazil — escorted by armed officers every time he leaves his village.

“I don’t have freedom,” he says, “but it feels good that I am protecting the forest.”

Despite these threats, the guardians of Maró continue their work. In partnership with Dutch criminologist Tim Boekhout van Solinge, Dadá and his team now use GPS technology and smart phones to document illegal logging. If an intruder is found, the team engages in peaceful dialogue. Only if necessary, do they remove vehicle keys or call in the authorities.

Their presence alone has been effective. In recent years, loggers have stayed out of Maró.

International recognition

On June 20, Chief Dadá was awarded the Prix Voltaire — an international sustainability award given to those who fight for “future fundamentals.” He is the first Indigenous leader to receive the prize.

The ceremony took place in the coastal town of Noordwijk, at the Huis ter Duin hotel. Dadá stood alongside previous winners like Unilever’s former CEO Paul Polman and LanzaTech’s Jennifer Holmgren. But he is not easily impressed by titles or boardrooms.

“Maybe the forest is worth more than a company,” he said quietly. “What we give back is clean air and nature. The forest is not commercial, but a source of life.”

Treesistance continues

Chief Dadá’s visit to the Netherlands was part of a growing effort to build international solidarity and scale the Treesistance model. From public talks to forest walks, from intimate donor gatherings to celebrations in the park, the message remained the same: the Amazon is still under threat — and the most powerful protectors are those who have lived with and cared for the forest for generations.

Treesistance stands behind them, and we’re honoured to walk alongside Chief Dadá and the guardians of Maró.

To learn more or support the work, visit treesistance.com.

This article draws on reporting by Nick Vink, originally published in Dutch by Leidsch Dagblad on July 5, 2025. Some quotes and background details have been adapted from that original publication. Read the full article here.

Treesistance 2nd Birthday Celebrations

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Update following Treesistance’s second birthday

A few weeks ago, we marked the second birthday of Treesistance — and we couldn’t have imagined a more powerful way to celebrate.

Chief Dadá Borarí returned to the Netherlands for a week filled with connection, courage, and community. We honoured two years of resistance and shared space with friends old and new who continue to walk alongside us in defending the Amazon.

Recognition on the global stage

One of the most moving moments came with the announcement that Chief Dadá had been awarded the Prix Voltaire — becoming the first Indigenous leader to receive this international recognition for “Friendly Fighters for Future Fundamentals.”

The award celebrates his decades-long fight to protect his territory and his leadership in training forest guardians across Brazil. Even after surviving violent retaliation — including being kidnapped and left for dead — Dadá continues to lead with unwavering strength and dignity. His recognition sends a message: Indigenous resistance is powerful, and it matters.

IAMazonia: running in solidarity

The celebrations continued on World Rainforest Day, when over 200 runners joined us in Amsterdam Forest for the first edition of the IAMazonia charity run — a day of movement, connection, and shared purpose.

Guided by Chief Dadá and joined in spirit by Surará, a forest guardian from Maró, the run honoured Indigenous leadership and the ongoing protection of the Amazon.

With the support of partners like Greenchoice, IR Global, and Purpose Drinks, the run was followed by an afternoon of music, storytelling, and workshops for all ages at the Amsterdam Bostheater.

It also marked the release of Purpose — an organic drink created in collaboration with Purpose Drinks to support frontline defenders of the Amazon. Ten percent of all proceeds go directly to Indigenous forest guardians. The drink will be available soon, and we’ll keep you posted on where to find it.

Together, we raised more than €11,000 to support the 67 active forest guardians in the Maró territory — a clear sign that collective action, even far from the Amazon, can make a real difference.

Learning from the guardians

Later that week, we invited selected foundations and family offices to the Welna estate for an immersive forest guardian training.

There, Dadá and the Treesistance team shared the methods used to monitor illegal logging, showcased the tools guardians use in the field, and offered a glimpse into the knowledge that has protected these forests for generations.

An additional €15,000 in donations was raised during the tour — funding new uniforms, a patrol boat motor, mobile phones, a laptop, and a drone.

Looking ahead

Two years in, Treesistance continues to grow — shaped by those who defend the forest, and by those who support them from afar.

We left this birthday week with full hearts, feeling hopeful, humbled, and more committed than ever.

To everyone who ran, danced, listened, donated, or simply showed up: thank you for standing with us.

We move forward, together.

TreeGreen Fund First Installation

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TreeGreen Fund Update: First Solar Installation Completed in Arapyun Village

We’re proud to share a major milestone for the TreeGreen Fund: In May, we completed our first full community solar energy installation in the Indigenous village of Arapyun — a powerful step toward energy equity and self-sufficiency in the Brazilian Amazon.

This installation also marks the successful completion of our training and capacity-building program, developed in collaboration with the Federal University of Western Pará (UFOPA). Through this initiative, local community members gained the skills needed to install, maintain, and manage their own renewable energy systems — ensuring long-term impact and Indigenous leadership at the core.

Thanks to the strength of our partnership with Greenchoice and CITA (Indigenous Council of the Tapajós and Arapiuns), this is only the beginning. We look forward to expanding installations and implementing innovative energy solutions across the region throughout 2025 — bringing power to schools, health centers, forest monitoring outposts, and beyond.

The TreeGreen Fund is more than infrastructure — it’s about empowerment, resilience, and sustainable conservation led by those who protect the Amazon every day.

Welcoming the Sateré Mawé Guardians

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New Forest Guardian Training Underway: Welcoming the Sateré Mawé

We’re excited to share another important step forward in strengthening Indigenous-led protection of the Amazon rainforest. A new Forest Guardian training has been launched with the Sateré Mawé, an Indigenous people living in the Andira Marau Indigenous Territory (789,000 Hectares) , which lies across the Brazilian states of Amazonas and Pará.

The Sateré Mawé are known not only for their deep connection to the forest but also for their cultural contributions. They were the first to domesticate and cultivate guaraná, a plant now widely consumed around the world for its energizing properties.

The name “Sateré Mawé” reflects elements of their identity and relationship to nature—“Sateré” meaning the fiery caterpillar, and “Mawé” referring to the intelligent, inquisitive parrot. Together, the name honours both the spirit of resilience and the thoughtful observation that defines their way of life.

Expanding the Network: More Forest Guardians equals more Indigenous Territory protected.

This new training builds on the momentum of earlier Guardian formations, such as the recent water guardians group in the Munduruku territory of Takuara and Bragança / Marituba. These trainings equip Indigenous leaders, youth, and coordinators with tools like drones and zoom cameras to monitor their lands, document threats, and respond swiftly to illegal activities such as logging, fishing, and land invasions.

Like other Guardian groups, the Sateré Mawé participants  receive technical training, logistical support, and equipment to strengthen their capacity to defend their territory and preserve the biodiversity of their region.

A Growing Movement of Autonomy and Resistance

Each training marks another step in a growing grassroots movement led by Indigenous peoples themselves. With every new group formed, the network of Forest and Water Guardians grows stronger, creating more points of surveillance, collaboration, and resistance across the Amazon.

We look forward to following the progress of the Sateré-Mawé Guardians and will share more from the field soon.

Munduruku Water Guardians take Action

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After a short break, we’re thrilled to return with an exciting update from the Munduruku territory of Takuara in the Brazilian Amazon.

In March, a new chapter began for the region’s environmental protection efforts: a visual monitoring and documentation training was completed for the newly formed Munduruku Water Guardian group. This milestone initiative brought together senior Indigenous leaders, group coordinators, and youth from the community.

The training was led by Treesistance representative Vivi Borari, who focused on equipping the Guardians with vital skills in using cutting-edge tools—zoom cameras and drones—that will help document illegal activities such as predatory fishing, and identify routes used by illegal loggers and hunters entering via the river.

In Vivi’s own words:

“Territorial monitoring is an important tool for us, Indigenous peoples, to continue monitoring and responding to threats to our territory and our waters. In a scenario of increasing pressure on the Amazon, strengthening these strategies means reinforcing our autonomy and our capacity for defence, keeping alive our ways of life and our ancestral relationship with the forest and the waters.”

Guardians in Action: Dredging Confrontation Leads to Legal Response

The Guardians’ impact was immediate.

On their first excursion, they identified a vessel illegally dredging the river within their territory (dredging being a process used to deepen waterways, in this case to enable large soy transport ships to access deeper parts of the Amazon—often at the cost of Indigenous lands and vital ecosystems) —a serious environmental threat linked to large-scale soy transportation, often tied to forest destruction.

Thanks to their swift action, the community filed a formal complaint, and the Federal Public Ministry (MPF) has since requested the suspension of the dredging and official marking of the Tapajós River, which runs through the region.

Supporting the Guardians: Partnership for Long-Term Impact

Treesistance partners with Indigenous peoples in the Brazilian Amazon to protect primary rainforest using bold, tangible strategies built on four strategic pillars:

  1. Access to Justice
  2. Communications
  3. Renewable Energy
  4. Economic Development

This innovative model provides the technology, logistical support, and training needed for the Munduruku people of Bragança/ Marituba and Takuara to prevent predatory fishing, stop invasions via waterways, and protect the precious ecosystems that both they—and we—depend on.

Scaling Up: Boats, Drones, and Inter-Territorial Cooperation

90% of the project funds had been deployed. Two smaller speedboats—one for each territory—have been purchased, along with two high-quality drones. Once the boats arrive, a two-day joint workshop will be held to begin coordinated monitoring efforts. The aim is to support inter-territorial collaboration in protecting a 160km stretch along the Tapajós National Forest.

Empowering the Arapiun People

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In December 2024, our final Forest Guardian training of the year was held in the community of Tucuma, located on the banks of the Arapiun River. This training brought together the Arapiun people and was led by Chief Dadá Borari, Head of the Treesistance Forest Guardian Program, along with members of the Maró guardian group.

Their mission: to empower the local community with the tools and knowledge needed to defend their territory.

The team, accompanied by representatives from CITA (Indigenous Council of the Tapajós and Arapiuns), provided a multi-day training program focused on combating forest crimes. Participants engaged in workshops covering a range of critical topics, including:

  • Technology and Technical Training: Equipping the community with tools to monitor and report illegal activities.
  • Map Creation Workshops: Developing accurate maps to better understand and protect their territory.
  • Navigating Conflict Zones: Training on strategies to safely traverse and monitor contested areas.
  • Safe Confrontation and De-escalation Techniques: In-depth discussions on addressing conflicts in a manner that prioritizes safety and resolution.

The program’s holistic approach ensured that participants not only gained technical skills but also developed the confidence to confront challenges in their region effectively.

This initiative was made possible thanks to the generous sponsorship of Koffels Solicitors & Barristers, an Australian law firm committed to supporting sustainable and indigenous-led conservation efforts.

As we conclude another impactful year, the Treesistance Forest Guardian Program remains steadfast in its commitment to preserving the Amazon and empowering its people. Together, we continue to build a future where communities thrive and the forests they call home are protected.

2024: A Year of Impact and Growth

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As the year draws to a close, we are proud to share the progress and impact of Treesistance’s efforts in 2024. From expanding Forest Guardian programs to launching new initiatives, our work has furthered the protection of Indigenous territories and vital ecosystems across the Amazon and Cerrado.

Maró Guardians on patrol blocking the road to illegal loggers

Key Highlights from 2024

  • Forest Guardianship: Our Forest Guardian program now operates in 11 Indigenous territories across three Brazilian states, protecting 500,000 hectares of rainforest and cerrado.
  • Water Guardians: In partnership with Indigenous leaders, we co-created and secured funding for the Water Guardians Program, launching January 2025. This initiative will protect the 160km coastline of the Tapajós National Forest.
  • Renewable Energy: In collaboration with Greenchoice, we launched a €500,000 Green Energy Fund to address Indigenous communities’ energy needs, including powering monitoring equipment, water systems, and community spaces.
  • Technological Advancements: Partnerships introduced satellite monitoring systems and low-tech tools, enabling real-time detection and response to illegal activities in Indigenous territories.

Standing Up for Justice and Sustainability

Our commitment to justice saw success this year, with legal action against soy farmers in the Lower Tapajós holding them accountable for encroachment. Meanwhile, the Indigenous Communications Network we developed will connect nine territories in 2025, streamlining communication and collaboration among Forest Guardians.

Building New Guardianship Programs

In 2024, we proudly launched five new Forest Guardian groups in the Lower Tapajós, with support from sponsors including Koffels Solicitors & Barristers and other international partners. This expansion brought new training, resources, and empowerment to communities defending their lands from illegal activities.

The Treesistance team meeting with the Arapyun community. The location chosen for the on-site training and first installations.

Looking Forward to 2025

As we head into the new year, we are optimistic about the launch of the Water Guardians Program, further expansion of the Forest Guardianship, and deeper collaboration with Indigenous communities. Together, we can continue to protect the biodiversity of the Amazon and support the resilience of its people.

Our deepest gratitude goes to the communities, partners, and sponsors who make this work possible. To read the full 2024 Impact Report, click here.

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