The idea has been around for some time – but now we have finally realised it:
a separate ‘world school’ for children and adults with a teacher from outside – because most Huni Kuin are still only learning from each other and without a specific (teaching) plan.

We have now found a Brazilian teacher who has been familiarising the Huni Kuin with the official school system since summer 2024, teaching them writing, reading and maths.

However, we are also hoping that these lessons will be expanded. For example, guests from Europe could teach English on a temporary basis. Or use the school hours to report on their home country in an alternative geography lesson.

The school also serves as an exam preparation programme for secondary schools. It is open to children from the age of six as well as adults who have had little or no schooling. At the moment, lessons take place in one of our houses, but our vision is to build our own school.
And in the best-case scenario, this school will also serve as an inspiration for others and for similar projects.

During our visits to schools, children and young people can get to know Living Bridge, the world of the indigenous people. For example, the children learn how to build a bow and arrow and how to use it. We learn about craftsmanship, but also about the concepts of mindfulness and respect.
We think together and playfully about what nature means to us.
The visits take place in individual school lessons, on a daily basis or as a project week.

The first official group came to Terra Viva in 2022. Since then, we have been offering an exchange every year from mid-March to mid-April. Guests from Europe and around the world have the opportunity to spend four weeks getting to know the jungle and the world of our Huni Kuin family.
By living together for a period of time, sharing everyday life from cooking to common rituals and festivals, people from different worlds can come together.
It's all about a mutual exchange of knowledge: the family in the jungle learns from the guests and vice versa.

We have been inviting family members to Europe every year since 2020. Many of them have never left the jungle before. For them, the trip broadens their horizons, they get to know new places, new cultures, music and new ways of life.
In our experience, however, the trips also always strengthen the Huni Kuin. In Europe, they often experience recognition from white people that they did not know before. They understand that Europeans are also confronted with everyday problems and entanglements. That not all white people are privileged, rich and aloof. That you can meet them person to person.

Terra Viva was founded in 2021. It consists of seven small houses in which four families live – and which offer space for visitors. Here we are working on a functioning water system, a power supply with solar panels and a world school for children and adults.
We see Terra Viva as a place where we can come closer to our vision, where we can test on a small scale what we want to realise later on a larger scale. New constructions are added every year, and we also invest in the neighbouring villages and families.

The traditional handicraft of the Huni Kuin is an ancient form of translating the language of nature into material. The women weave clothes, weave baskets, make jewellery and paint their faces and bodies with traditional writing and patterns.
We also deliver the handmade jewellery to Europe on request and exhibit it in museum shops, fashion or craft shops. We are of course open to further co-operations.