PÁRATU INSTITUTE
Blending Holism, in Policy and Practice
Why It Matters
We are at a major crossroads with environmental, economic and social crisis. The world needs to shift how it views governance, policy and the soil beneath our feet. It is our relationships with all living things and the stewardship of all resources that unite us in a single critical effort to change our trajectory. Páratu, "wind" in the Sápara language, is a living metaphor for this change, and people, plants, animals, and landscapes guide that change.
Our Efforts
Páratu
The Origins
During my first visit to the Sápara of the Amazonian lowlands in Ecuador, I learned the word páratu, meaning wind. When the wind blows through the Amazon, a message is being shared to those who listen. The great kapok tree rustles. Life throughout the forest is attentive and responds.
The wind brings about change. It also serves as a meta-guide. In walking through the Amazon on a different day, two Achuar men explained that the wind is a god portending a shift in dynamics and that the observer ought to pay attention to the message that the wind brings. It serves as a guide to both the Achuar and the Sápara. The wind indicates change.