About Us
Who We Are
We are a politically independent environmental organization, firmly engaged in the defense of tropical forest’s inhabitants and their surrounding areas. We do not receive donations from the state or government and our activities are financed solely by our activities. Our main work is to educate and raise environmental awareness through grassroots movements and internet campaigns, in order to cover the largest possible audience.
A Few Words About
Our history
We are a group of friends who have known each other for many years. Diego and Douglas were friends as children when their parents were handicraft shoemakers together. Juan, Natalia, and Paula were pulled together later through mutual friends and connections made during medical school. By this time, Diego had been mulling over the idea of rainforest conservation for more than 15 years. He even created a website called “Fundación Jaibaná”, which frequently posted news about environmental conservation and reports of ecological catastrophes. Later, during an impromptu dinner together after Paula had returned from France, in 2016, Diego began to share the idea that he had been formulating. Many brainstorming dinners and searches for specific projects followed. We spoke with people throughout the environmental community, including a contact that still exists with the indigenous community of La Chorrera in the Putumayo region (part of the Amazonian area at the south of Colombia). As our foundation grew, we began to work hand in hand with the Rotary Club, and were even able to support the university education of Aimema Urué, a bright and charismatic young indigenous man from La Chorrera who was the beneficiary of a scholarship at the Externado de Colombia University (https://elblogderlinto.blogspot.com/).
We have been legally constituted as a foundation since May 2018 and as such, we are a non-profit organization.
Now we are in the most important stage of our activities: the official launch of the campaign to Adopt a Square Meter of Rainforest.
Diego H. González Quiceno
Environmental manager
Paula Marcela Herrera
Doctor - PhD in Neuroscience
Douglas Montañez Yaspe
Doctor
Juan Manuel Molina
Dermatologist
Juan José Gallo
Electrical engineer
Francisco Gallo
National Geographic Explorer
Diego H. González Quiceno: He was born in Pereira, Risaralda in the heart of the Colombia coffee region. He went to Medical School and then Environmental Administration at the Technological University of Pereira (UTP). He has shown an entrepreneurial spirit from a very young age. Before graduating from high school, he had his first recycling company, and before graduating from environmental administration, he had already created a guadua harvesting company (guadua is a species of giant bamboo).
He is currently the CEO of an Eco-responsible cosmetics company producing skin products made of organic Aloe Vera and Cannabis https://neotropico.com Diego enjoys bird photography in his spare time. He is president and founder of the Neotropic Foundation.
Douglas Montañez Jaspe: Originally from Santa Cruz de Lorica (Colombian Atlantic coast). He studied medicine at the Technological University of Pereira (UTP). Douglas is the Founding CEO of OJO De Aguila Films & Drones (https://www.facebook.com/OJODEAGUILAFILMSYDRONES). He describes himself as “A moderately conscious man, eager to wake up, a tireless seeker for truth.”
Juan Manuel Molina: Originally from Manizales (Colombian coffee region), he studied medicine at the Technological University of Pereira. Very committed to the mental and physical healing of people, Juan works in a dermatological clinic, and as Yoga Inbound instructor. He is a carpenter in his spare time and a happy father of two children.
Natalia Echeverri Buriticá: Originally from Belén de Umbría (Coffee region), she studied Marketing and Business Administration. Natalia is a Yoga Inbound instructor, who coaches in her spare time. Natalia is also a happy mother of a little girl.
Paula Marcela Herrera Gómez: Born in Pereira, she studied medicine in her hometown before moving abroad. Living in France for 12 years, she studied psychiatry and neuroscience. Paula is passionate about outdoor sports, mountain walks, and cooking. She has a dark past as a poet.
Our experience in Colombia has shown that broad internet information campaigns constitute an effective strategy to influence large public and policy makers, so it has become one of the main focuses of our work. We intend to inform the general public about the participation of large companies in the destruction of tropical forests. From a scientific journalism point of view, we are very careful to highlight evidenced based causes and culprits, and we try to exert direct influence on the so-called development policies and business in the world of banks and companies.
Naturally, our campaigns also target worldwide consumers who can also contribute to the protection of tropical forests, raising awareness about their power as more responsible consumers, and giving them the opportunity to make direct environmental contributions through private commitments as well as local and internet protest actions.