VASI, or Vision Amazonica por la Sostenibilidad Integral (Amazonian Vision for an Integrated Sustainability) in the words of a local teacher, is a vision from Amazonia (the lungs of the world) that proposes to help the world to live in a way that is economically, culturally, socially, spiritually, and ecologically sustainable and which includes and recognizes the rights of all people. The project was formerly known as Proyecto Colaborativo Sarayacu--Sarayacu Collaborative Project and Cuidadores de las Cochas.www.proyectovasi.orgThis collaborative project combines the passion, experience, and knowledge of nine Amazonian communities, university students from those communities, and both Peruvian and international research scientists. VASI has three main branches: collaborative research, increasing opportunities for higher education, and applied projects. The first applied project is an integrated organic agroforestry project which mixes staple foods for local consumption with fruits, timber, and wild and heirloom varieties of cacao for direct export to fine chocolate makers (starting with those in N. Michigan)

Editor/ Writing Coach Translator/Interpreter (Spanish to English) Contact me if you would like help with your writing or need a translator. No project is too small. Projects Have Included:*Conceptual editing (scientific articles, web-page content, job and graduate school applications, formal/business correspondence*Copy editing (business letters, web-page content, academic correspondence, academic and non-academic published articles, graduate school applications, C.V. and resumes, and more)*Writing assistant (formal correspondence, C.V. and resumes, web-page content)*Writing coach for graduate school applications including humanities, science, and professional schools*Grant writing (grants obtained from government, academic, non-profits and business organizations)*Translation (formal correspondence, C.V.'s, resumes, academic articles...)*Cultural understanding--helping those working in new cultural situations

Research funded through NSF, Fulbright, Wildlife Conservation Society, Columbia University, Harvard University Committee for Environmental Studies, DRCLS, Pforzheimer Foundation, and PADI Foundation. Project: Research the ecological dynamics at the landscape level of theterrestrial aquatic interface and the role of community based conservation in maintaining the ecological integrity of this zone Work primarily in four rural towns and peripherally in six others in the Peruvian Amazon and coordinate with regional authorities and city based researchers, NGO’s, universities, businesses, and other groups, Managed team of more than ten local assistants ages 18 to 46, Co-organized a participatory workshop working with communities local NGO’s, research institutions, government agencies and commercial fishing groups to diminish conflict between parties and aid development of long-term regional sustainable fishing plan.

Collaborative project begun under the auspices of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State and the GAIA Research Group of Antioquia University in Medellín, Columbia,Project: develop an active global network of institutions, organizations, and researchers working on issues related to fresh water.