Miami-based nutritional products company Cid Botanicals and Naku, the Sápara Nation’s community firm, have partnered to create a new model of cooperation based on value-added exports, profit sharing and preserving ancestral wisdom. The announcement was made in Anaheim, Calif., in conjunction with the 2014 Natural Products Expo West.

Naku (meaning “forest”) was established in order to empower the economic and social needs of the Sápara Nation of Ecuador. For centuries, the Sápara have developed a vast knowledge of the Amazon’s most nutritious fruits and medicinal plants. With only 200 members left, they wish to preserve and share this knowledge with the world.

President of the Sápara Nation, Manari Ushigua, commented on the partnership, “Ours is an ambitious undertaking. We wish to create a Village of Knowledge, to preserve our culture and the forest in order to provide a sustainable alternative to Ecuador’s main export: petroleum.”

Cid Botanicals Superfood Blends are a mix of powerful South American sourced ingredients for Eye Support, Anti-Oxidant Support, Vegan Protein and Immune System Support. All ingredients are sourced from natural habitats, organic and many are wild harvested. Naku Edition products are wild harvested and value-added in the Napo river basin, home to the Sápara.

Managing director of Cid Botanicals, Roberto F. Cid Jr., stated: “This new partnership will help Cid Botanicals stay at the forefront of botanical investigation as well as provide the Sápara Nation with a new tool for defending their sovereignty and autonomy. When you buy Naku Edition products you not only receive the highest quality botanicals but also help preserve the rainforest and provide a Nation with the resources needed to maintain their way of life.”