Amelia, Juan, and León combine legal expertise and intercultural dialogue in Nuiyanzhi Biocultural hub to transform Sierra Nevada’s ecosystems through community-led stewardship and the very first Stewardship NFTs.
In the breathtaking Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta, a remarkable family is spearheading a visionary transformation. Amelia, Juan, and León—a mother, father, and son team—are turning degraded land into a thriving sanctuary for biodiversity and traditional knowledge at the Nuiyanzhi Biocultural Hub. Their collaborative approach bridges indigenous wisdom with modern conservation techniques, creating a model for community-led environmental stewardship.
The Guardians’ journey
The family’s connection to this land emerged from a deep commitment to ecological restoration and cultural preservation. Amelia is a lawyer specializing in territorial, cultural, and environmental rights. She brings her legal expertise in Rights of Nature frameworks to the project. Juan contributes his knowledge of bioclimatic design and sustainable construction. Their son León brings his passion for wildlife conservation, especially ornithology.
Working in respectful partnership with Kogui elders, including Jate José Dingula and Jaba Petronila, the family has created a unique conservation model that honors indigenous knowledge while implementing innovative restoration practices. This collaboration ensures that the project maintains cultural integrity while addressing contemporary environmental challenges.
“Our approach is to listen first, then act,” explains Amelia. “The land has its own voice and wisdom, and our role is to help restore balance while creating space for both biodiversity and human communities to thrive.”
Nuiyanzhi Biocultural Hub’s Significance
Named “The son who irradiates” in Kogui language, Ñuiyanzhi represents a critical ecological initiative in one of the world’s most important biodiversity hotspots. Through the family’s guidance, this former degraded land is becoming a safe haven for endangered species and a demonstration site for effective restoration techniques.
What makes their approach unique is Ñuiyanzhi’s role as a “corridor pathfinder.” The hub contributes to creating vital ecological connections by reconnecting fragmented landscapes and enabling wildlife movement across the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. This work forms part of a broader vision to establish a network of biocultural hubs that create a global corridor of ecological restoration.
The hub also serves as a wisdom center where knowledge exchange flourishes. Through workshops, residencies, and immersive learning experiences, the family facilitates dialogue between local communities, researchers, architects, farmers, and students, promoting a holistic vision of territorial regeneration.
Community Impact
Under the family’s leadership, Ñuiyanzhi demonstrates how biocultural approaches to conservation can create sustainable livelihoods while protecting ecosystems. Their collaborative model ensures that local communities participate meaningfully in conservation decisions.
The family engages nearby communities in the co-design of the ecological corridor, ensuring participatory management and creating opportunities for sustainable economic development. By integrating traditional knowledge with modern conservation techniques, Ñuiyanzhi shows how communities can thrive while restoring natural systems.
“We don’t see conservation and community wellbeing as separate goals,” says Juan. “They’re absolutely interdependent, and our work aims to demonstrate this interconnection.”
How to Support Them
The Nuiyanzhi Biocultural Hub participates in INHABIT’s innovative funding model using Stewardship NFTs to connect global supporters with local conservation actions. These digital memberships empower people worldwide to support land restoration with transparency and accountability.
By holding one of Ñuiyanzhi’s Stewardship NFTs you gain access to biocultural experiences, events and workshops within the corridor’s bio-cultural hubs, fostering a connection with the land and the bio-culture of a territory.
The benefits include free or discounted accommodation and meals, exclusive access to unique workshops and experiences, educational and training content on inhabiting knowledge and practices (Reforestation, permaculture, bioconstruction…)—and much more.
What Stewardship NFT funds are used for
Your support helps secure long-term protection of this land under INHABIT’s framework, which permanently dedicates the area to conservation and recognizes the land’s rights to exist and regenerate.
Protect – Legal Stability
To purchase and permanently safeguards lands under the INHABIT’s groundbreaking legal framework, recognising ecosystems as legal entities with protected rights, while providing specific rights and benefits to individuals who support its regeneration.
Restore – Long-term ecosystem restoration and Stewardship
To finance long-term, stewardship-based land regeneration through three-year programs, restoring the full diversity and functionality of the ecosystem—not just planting trees.
Transform – Into Thriving Biocultural Hubs
To fund the development of hubs dedicated to unique fields of knowledge, fostering the production and dissemination of wisdom, and actively working to expand the corridor.
Improve – NFT 2.0
To develop an enhanced and more valuable version of the Stewardship NFT, offering greater benefits to NFT holders while further expanding the corridor.
The NFT Memberships
Each membership tier offers progressively expanded benefits, including exclusive access to hub activities, restoration updates, virtual workshops, and special recognition within the Ñuiyanzhi community. By becoming a steward, you directly fund critical restoration work while joining a global movement for biocultural conservation.
Tití: Seed Dispersers Sowing the Future
Representing the first level of Kogui stewardship where children care for animals, the Tití tier is named after White-headed tamarins. These playful primates regulate pests and disperse seeds, performing vital ecosystem services that help forest regeneration.
Paujil: Flying Architects Designing Regeneration
Embodying the second level where young adolescents care for plants, the Paujil tier honors the Blue-billed Currasow. These colorful birds regulate small reptile populations and disperse plant seeds, creating a balanced forest ecosystem.
Caracolí: Living Bridges Connecting Species
Symbolizing the third Kogui stewardship level where adults care for people, Caracolí celebrates the essential ecosystem tree that safeguards water systems. Its massive roots preserve aquifers while providing habitat and food for countless forest creatures.
Jaguar: Wisdom Keepers Preserving Knowledge
Representing the highest stewardship level where elders care for stones and knowledge, the Jaguar tier honors the Sierra Nevada’s apex predator. As an umbrella species, jaguars regulate ecosystem health and symbolize the preservation of ancient wisdom.
You can read all of the benefits of each membership here.
Ready to become a Steward of your planet? Explore ÑUIYANZHI’s Stewardship NFTs and join a global network protecting ecosystems with every click.
Nuiyanzhi Biocultural Hubs’ FAQs
- How does the family collaborate with indigenous communities?
Amelia, Juan, and León maintain respectful partnerships with Kogui elders, ensuring all restoration activities honor traditional ecological knowledge while addressing modern conservation challenges. This collaboration creates a powerful synthesis that guides the hub’s development. - What makes Ñuiyanzhi different from conventional conservation projects?
Unlike traditional models that often exclude human communities, Ñuiyanzhi embraces a biocultural approach that recognizes the interdependence of people and nature. The family demonstrates how human activities can contribute positively to ecosystem restoration rather than being seen as separate from it. - How will my support help expand the impact of Ñuiyanzhi?
Your support funds the hub’s vision to establish an innovative soil restoration center combining ancestral and scientific knowledge. This center will facilitate the production and dissemination of restoration practices throughout the bioregion, multiplying impact far beyond the hub’s boundaries.