HUMANE CHARITY SPOTLIGHT

Naturaleza

With steering and advisory committees full of holistic physicians, ethnobotanists, ecologists, and indigenous people, Naturaleza is poised to lead a sustainable revolution in the way the world culture preserves the Earth’s natural places, botanical diversity, and indigenous peoples, all of which are disappearing so quickly it nearly takes your breath away.

Naturaleza was founded with a mission to “assist in the generation of fresh revenue streams for the continued preservation of our world's natural places and the deep cultural traditions therein.” For President Todd Pesek, M.D., an holistic physician, ethnobotanist, and ecologist, this means instituting programs and policies that practice social responsibility and environmental awareness while helping native peoples improve their situation in these four areas:

• Health and Wellness
• Agriculture
• Education
• Cultural Awareness

Through Naturaleaza’s La Sierra Tropical Research Facility and Clinic Initiative, the charity will be establishing a research facility and medical clinic in Southern Belize that will support visiting national and international health care professionals. It will aim to provide emergency and infectious disease care and occupational and physical therapies to local populations. The clinic initiative will also serve as a collaborative research facility in topics such as tropical/wilderness medicine, epidemiological/infectious disease, public health, and traditional healing modalities like shamanism, bush medicine and herbalism.

Naturaleza’s other health-related endeavors include development of sustainably harvested, fair-trade phytomedicine and a shamanistic apprenticeship program. The charity focuses on a holistic approach to cultural health, ensuring that all their programs meet the needs of the indigenous people served and the environment. Given this, obtaining the Humane Charity Seal of Approval was a natural extension of the charity’s creative approaches to problem solving. The foundation’s web site explains: “We would like to facilitate creativity and illustrate alternatives with regard to the more archaic and outdated models currently still in use by some.”

For more information, visit www.NaturalezaFoundation.org.

Each month the Council on Humane Giving profiles a health charity that displays the Humane Charity Seal of Approval on its Web site or literature. Please consider showing your support by writing a letter of thanks or giving a donation, and be sure to tell your friends, family, and coworkers about this outstanding health charity.

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