Ladies and Gentlemen of the Nexus,

I would like to introduce to you a project that some friends of mine are putting a great deal of time and energy toward making a reality. That project is called The Ethnobotanical Stewardship Council. The aim of the ESC is to o become
the globally recognized entity for managing the safety and sustainability of
medicinal plants used in ritual contexts. The ESC aims to create and define
two mechanisms for such stewardship, namely: 1) the setting of transparent,
multi-stakeholder voluntary standards based on globally-agreed principles
and locally-applicable criteria, and 2) the designation of appropriate
assurance mechanisms to provide objective evidence that participating
entities are in conformity with the standard (mechanisms such as
certification).

The ESC's first project is called "The Ayahuasca Dialogues," with future projects; "The Iboga Dialogues," "The Peyote Dialogues," and other plant dialogues down the road. The purpose of The Ayahuasca Dialogues is contact, engage,and seek consensus among the many stakeholders involved in cultivation, preservation, and the growing tourism trade of the Ayahuasca medicines in the Amazon. This will be done through reaching out to key stakeholders, understanding their concerns and needs, and soliciting their participation in a final standards-setting process. Ultimately,the end-goal of the ESC's Ayahuasca Dialogues is to create a "seal" system similar to other standards with which you may be familiar, such as the Rainforest Alliance or "Fair Trade Certified." The ESC's seal will ensure travelers and community members that retreat centers and practitioners participating in the standard have committed to a set of mutually agreed upon benchmarks for Ecological impact of the center on surrounding jungle, sustainable cultivation of admixture plants, and perhaps most crucial to those travelling long distances for these experiences, that all precautions are taken to ensure the health and well-being of participants and guests.

More information about the ESC and the Dialogues can be found HERE

The ESC has a number of individuals who are giving generously of their time and talents to bring this project successfully to life. However, they are very much in need of financial help. MAPS (in the USA) and ICEERS (in Europe) are soliciting tax-deductable donations for the project to get off the ground. I, myself have donated to this ambitious and much-needed endeavor, and am asking my fellow Nexians to do the same. Consider doing so, as the goal of such a standard is not just the chance of ensured safety of participating in a retreat in Peru, but also the creation of a market-based alternative to government banning or enforcement in response to the growing problems of safety in this industry, which could, longer-term, be a model to prevent international legal crackdowns on Sacred Medicines.