WHO WE ARE

Iyarina is a center for Learning and research in the Ecuadorian Amazon with primary strengths in the Humanities and secondary strengths in the Life Sciences.  It is located in a Kichwa speaking community on the South bank of the Río Napo with extension campuses on the Río Nushino and Curaray in the nearby Waorani territory.  It is the Ecuadorian home of Shayarina Amazonian Resilience, a US 503-C registered in Arizona.   Shayarina works closely with Fundación Cotococha, an Ecuadorian registered non-profit, to carry out work on Amazonian sustainability. 

For over 20 years Iyarina has also been home to  the Andes and Amazon Field School (the educational side of our network) jointly sponsored by Title VI National Resource Centers at the University of Wisconsin Madison, the University of Pittsburgh, Florida International University, and Brigham Young University.   Each summer we bring together indigenous knowledge carriers, students, and faculty for 8 weeks of learning and research in the Andes and Amazon Field School.  Collaborative research projects are carried out throughout the year.  Together we seek to better understand the culture of the region and to find practical solutions for a sustainable future.