Runa Tea | Unlocking the Power of the Amazon
Since Tyler Gage and Dan MacCombie founded Runa Tea in 2009, the company has made a tremendous social and economic impact in the lives of the Sapara and Kichwa people and their communities:
1. Improved the lives of over 3,000 indigenous Amazonian farmers by creating a market for guayusa for the first time! Farmers previously did not have the resources to sell guyausa internationally.
2. Invested over $50,000/ year in community development through paying an additional 15% premium towards funding a savings account for community development projects.
3. Planted over 150,000 trees each year as part of their mission to establish guyausa as a means to environmentally conscious practices. Runa’s non-profit partner, Fundacion Runa, partners with farmers to keep an eye on the impacts producing guyausa has on the land.
4. Purchased over $250,000 of guyausa leaves from indigenous farming families using a fair trade business model. This has generated a stream of sustainable income for the farmers of guyausa and their families.
Tyler and Runa plan to continue changing lives with their new project: two brand new, state-of-the-art medical facilities in Peru and Ecuador dedicated to bringing western and Amazonian doctors together. He is collaborating with friends Channing Tatum and Luke Weil on this initiative to find undiscovered healing properties and medical breakthroughs within the Amazon. The Rios Nete Clinic in Peru will be the first clinic to use western medical protocol to study Amazonian medicine.The NAKU Center in Quito, Educator will serve as a wellness center overseen by the Sapara people. The Sapara people are thought to be the most knowledgeable on the plants and trees of the Amazon and have long been treating illnesses with their discoveries.
"We are proud that we do not operate on a charity or donation model, but instead focus on creating and strengthening a sustainable income stream. The more products Runa sells, the more guayusa is purchased from indigenous farmers and the more money is channeled into these communities (money flow is not based on charitable donations from Runa). As guayusa is shared with more and more people around the world, Kichwa cultural heritage spreads and money flows to the communities that cultivate this amazing plant. Together with the Shipibo and Sapara people, we want to show the world that people everywhere can benefit from the bounty of the Amazon without destroying it."
