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The Panama Life Changer Experience - 2023 Creating BioCutlrual Leadership, Naturally

A Life Changer Program By

In Collaboration With

Geoversity is Nature’s University. Our main campus is the Mamoní Valley Preserve, a 4,800-hectare (12,000 acres) rainforest conservancy located in one of the top biodiversity hotspots in the world, less than a two-hour drive from Panama City, Panama.

Geoversity leads a growing ecosystem of individuals and organizations united in the mission of biocultural renewal. Our programs are grounded in the hard day-to-day work of watershed conservation and the fight to avert global ecological collapse, always in team with local communities, indigenous authorities, and youth activists. We offer immersive learning experiences, guided by applied science, natural design, and indigenous wisdom, for emerging and accomplished biocultural leaders.

  • Established in Panama in 2001
  • Three pillars of focus: education, conservation, and sustainable build & design
  • Protects 5,000 hectares (12,500 acres) of biodiverse land and water systems
  • One of earth’s top ecological hotspots

Geoversity’s natural campuses and our learning and leadership programs are administered by the not-for-profit Geoversity Foundation in the U.S. and the Fundación Geoversity in Panama.

Geoversity is collaborating with Abroadia to offering this unique experiential learning program that involves science, community development, biocultural leadership, and a touch of adventure.

Join us in Panama for a 9-day Familiarization Program

$2,250

All-inclusive trip. International flights and medical insurance not included. You'll be accompanied in Panama by professional local faculty and guides who will take care of you from the moment you arrive to Panama. Includes: professional staff, private transport, lodging, meals, entrance fees, conservation fees, and taxes.

Sites You Will Explore in Panama

The Mamoní Valley Preserve: 3 Nights

Experience the comfort and convenience of Geoversity's rainforest campus and explore the Mamoní Valley Preserve with all its glory: vast biodiversity, all stages of tropical rainforest succession in low-land humid environments with cloud forest-like characteristics, waterfalls, rivers, ongoing research projects, bamboo build & design, agricultural sites, reforestation plots, bamboo plantations, mestizo villages with small rural schools and one under resourced health centre— all within a mountainous region 80km from Panama City.

The Mamoní Valley Preserve

Gunayala Indigenous Territory: 2 nights

Experience the remote Caribbean island villages in the autonomous Gunayala territory (Guna Yala) where the Guna people are facing rising seas that are causing an exodus of the island communities to the mainland. Explore potential service projects in the communities and with environmental research.

Emberará Ẽjuä So Indigenous Territory: 1 Night

Paddle in a traditional dugout canoe and hike into the primary rainforest to one of Panama’s most charming communities to experience the beauty of their natural environment in the Chagres National Park and learn from their ancestral traditions. Explore the source of the most important river in Panama and historic routes of the Camino Real, the colonial route where gold and silver were carried through the Isthmus during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. See how local stewardship plays a crucial role towards the ecological services needed for Panama's main drinking water source and largest income generator— the Canal.

Emberá Ẽjuä So Indigenous Territory

Panama City: 2 nights

Dive into the concrete jungle and experience all the top sites: the Panama Canal, Frank Gehry designed Biomuseo, Smithsonian Tropical Research Sites, Cultural and UNESCO world heritage sites, produce and artisanal markets.

Panama City
Geoversity's Rainforest Campus, Centro Mamoní, is our Science and Leadership Training Center

The Panama Experience

Example 14-Day Academic Program: Biomimicry & Systems Thinking

Your shorter 9-day reconnaissance trip will introduce you to these regions and activities

Day 1

Morning arrival to Panama. Take direct private transport to Geoversity's rainforest campus in the Mamoní Valley Preserve. Afternoon introduction to off-grid-living with renewable and closed-loop systems

Day 2

In the morning explore on an interpretive rainforest hike to Continental Divide to see how living systems thrive in the tropics. a live* or virtual workshop with Dr. Tamsin Wooley-Barker on Biomimicry Anthropology (human origins/evolution, diversity and adaptation, behavioural ecology, cognition). Afternoon introduction to sustainable build and design Harvest and cure bamboo for sustainable build projects

Day 3

Day hike through the rainforest to see first hand unsustainable agricultural practices (tradition, economic, historical). Engage in discussions with local farmers and with people working on conservation projects. Along the way, stop to visit waterfalls and local communities. Afternoon explore alternative sustainable methods of agriculture at Geoversity's agroforestry site. a team build & design challenge with bamboo

Day 4

Dig into sustainable agriculture for the day. Work on an agroforestry permaculture farm site to learn about sustainable agricultural practices, sequestering carbon while making biochar. Harvest and cure bamboo for sustainable build projects. Manage cacao, coffee, and other plantations

Day 5

Lead educational enrichment programs with local students to share curiosity

Day 6

Engage in discussions with local farmers and with people working on conservation projects to learn about unintended consequences

Day 7

Do wildlife spotting and monitoring for species cataloguing and along the way visit waterfalls and local communities

Day 8

Get creative with your teammates in a bamboo boat building workshop to learn new skills
Geoversity's Rainforest Campus, Centro Mamoní, is our Science and Leadership Training Center

Itinerary Outside the Mamoní Valley

Day 9

Arrive to the Guna indigenous territory where you'll explore marine ecosystems to understand how they're being threatened by traditional tourism and invasive species

Day 10

Engage in artisanal workshops with the Guna community to learn about their culture. Give a helping hand during a beach cleanup. See first hand the ongoing exodus to the mainland caused by the rising seas

Day 11

Jump in a dugout canoe to paddle, then hike, to an Emberá Indigenous village nestled in the remote jungles of Panama where you'll learn about their ancestral traditions

Day 12

Learn about the medicinal plants and how the Emberá people live in harmony with the forest. Sleep in an Emberá village in a traditional "tambo" (house)

Day 13

Explore Panama City's rich history and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Visit open-air produce and seafood markets where you'll discuss where Panama's food comes from and how they've influenced culinary traditions. Along the way we visit an artisanal market where we explore traditional materials used in the arts

Day 14

Tour with local guides the world famous Panama Canal and Frank Gehry's Biomuseo to learn about Panama's global influence. Visit Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute exhibitions and engage with researchers

Geoversity's Life Changer Program: Sites & Activities Video (3:54)

Fundación Geoversity, Calle Henry 389A City of Knowledge/Ciudad del Saber, Panama. @Geoversity

A Program in Collaboration With

Created By
Geoversity Foundation
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Credits:

Geoversity