The People Behind Living Bridge
Living Bridge was founded by Txana Bane from the Huni Kuin people and Kathy Mãkuani from Germany, together with their children Linda Bismani and Milan Tene.
The family lives between two worlds – in Wendland, Germany and in the brazilian rainforest of Acre. Since 2012, they have been building bridges between these worlds, creating pathways for genuine cultural exchange and mutual learning.

What began as a family vision has grown with the support of friends and families who believed in the work, making the foundation of Living Bridge e.V. possible.
Our Living Bridge team is growing step by step, so we can serve all our projects well.

How We Work
Through close cultural exchange, we create opportunities to experience different ways of life and learn from each other – not as observer and observed, but person to person.
We meet with appreciation and openness. This is how we strengthen each other and build something sustainable.

What we believe in
Respectful coexistence means living with responsibility for the future of the earth. When we connect cultures with genuine respect, we don’t just preserve indigenous wisdom – we discover pathways forward for all of us.

The Founders

Txana Bane – Ambassador between worlds
Txana Bane comes from a Huni Kuin chieftain family in Jordão, near the peruvian border. At eleven years old, his father, chief Siã, brought him and his brothers to Rio Branco to experience city life – planting early seeds of understanding between worlds. Over time, connections grew. In 2005, Txana traveled to Europe for the first time.
Today, he lives as an ambassador for his community, giving indigenous people a powerful voice in the West. Together with his wife Kathy, he founded Living Bridge to create a formal framework for this cultural connection – a structure that could support and sustain the bridge between worlds.
Txana and his brothers now share the role of chief together, leading their community while maintaining these vital connections.

Kathy Mãkuani – Naturopath and bridge builder
Kathy Mãkuani is a naturopath qualified in traditional plant medicine and bodywork in Europe, and co-founder of Living Bridge. But she has been building bridges her whole life.
Born in Greifswald in 1985, she was raised in an East German family but grew up near Kiel. Though the german countryside differs vastly from the brazilian Amazon, the laws of nature remain the same – as does the feeling of connection to the earth.
Kathy lives with her family between two worlds: part of the year in Wendland, Germany, and the rest in the jungle. In the Amazon, she works with women and also focuses on the balance between men and women.
Her approach is simple: strengthen each other by recognizing the power already inherent in both cultures.

Together
Txana and Kathy, with their children Linda Bismani and Milan Tene, have built Living Bridge as a family – creating pathways for others to experience what they have learned: that genuine connection between cultures enriches everyone.