Camisea and Sernanp Award 6 Sustainable Businesses from Communities in the Cusco Amazon

Six productive and sustainable entrepreneurial initiatives, driven by native communities near Manu National Park and the Machiguenga Communal Reserve in the Cusco Amazon, have been recognized as winners of the “Entrepreneurs for Nature: Innovation and Conservation for the Future” contest. This initiative was promoted by the Ministry of Environment through the National Service of Natural Protected Areas (SERNANP) and sponsored by Camisea.

The call for proposals, made in August 2025, identified three winning initiatives for each of the mentioned protected natural areas.

Winning ventures

The recognized proposals stand out for the sustainable use of renewable natural resources, the strengthening of food security, agroforestry production, sustainable handicrafts, and the responsible management of non-timber forest products. The winning ventures are detailed below:

• Manu National Park
• Native Community of Tayakome: Sustainable food security through agroforestry systems and community forestry.
• Shipetiari Native Community: Sustainable production of copaiba oil under the “Koveni, nature that heals” approach.
• Callanga Farmers Association: Improvement of agroforestry management for coffee cultivation.

• Machiguenga Communal Reserve
• Yorini Artisans Association – Cock-of-the-Rock (Tangoshiari): Sustainable creation of bags, fabrics, and earrings with natural materials.
• Native Community Puerto Rico: Sustainable use of forest seeds.
• Tangoshiari Cocoa Producers Association: Improvement of cocoa production and post-harvest process.

Alliance for Conservation and Development

Through Entrepreneurs by Nature, Camisea, and Sernanp seek to promote sustainable value chains in the Natural Protected Areas of SINANPE (National System of Natural Protected Areas of the State), generating environmental benefits and economic opportunities for the communities that inhabit and protect these territories.

This initiative is part of the Framework Cooperation Agreement signed in May 2025 between Camisea and Sernanp, with the purpose of strengthening the conservation and sustainable management of two of Peru's most biodiverse natural areas: the Machiguenga Communal Reserve and Manu National Park, located in the Cusco jungle, an area influenced by Camisea's natural gas production operation.

The competitive fund «Entrepreneurs for Nature» seeks to continue promoting and strengthening sustainable productive initiatives in the Natural Protected Areas of the National System of Natural Protected Areas by the State (SINANPE), contributing both to the conservation of natural spaces and to the revitalization of the local economies of the communities that inhabit and protect them.

New call for 2026

After the awards ceremony for the winning ventures of 2025, Camisea and Sernanp launched the “Entrepreneurs for Nature 2026” call, again aimed at entrepreneurs living in the Manu National Park and Machiguenga Communal Reserve Protected Natural Areas. This initiative will award productive projects from communities that demonstrate that the conservation of natural heritage is the engine of the local economy and will distribute the same amount as last year.