In the Native Community of Monte Carmelo, a new space of life and learning has taken root. After six months of work, the Machiguenga Botanic Garden has been completed: a place where ancestral wisdom and environmental conservation come together in harmony.
This initiative began in April, when the community of Monte Carmelo formally granted one hectare of land for the creation of a community botanical garden. From that moment, A Rocha Peru, together with local residents and the respected elder Máximo Kategari, began a journey of restoration and collaboration. The work included clearing and conditioning trails, identifying native species, collecting medicinal plants, and installing interpretive signs that tell the stories and uses of each one.
Throughout the process, the garden became more than just a conservation space: it became a meeting point for generations. The participation of the Local School of Monte Carmelo and several community volunteers strengthened the connection between traditional knowledge and modern science. For the youth, it is an open-air classroom; for the elders, it is a living testimony of their cultural heritage.
Now completed, the Machiguenga Botanic Garden will continue to grow as a space for education, research, and community reflection. Its goal is to identify and document 100% of the species present, ensuring that each one becomes a tool for learning and conservation.
Beyond its ecological importance, the garden symbolizes unity and continuity. It preserves the medicinal plants that have healed generations and invites new ones to care for the forest with the same reverence. Through this effort, Monte Carmelo shows that protecting nature is also a way of protecting memory, and that in every leaf and root, life and wisdom flourish together.
