We’re the real deal
Savimbo is a social enterprise built by, and for, Indigenous Peoples and local communities to access climate markets directly. We stop deforestation by paying the people already doing the work.
Indigenous Peoples are 5% of the population. They guard 80% of the world’s biodiversity. Smallfarmers control 80% of tropical forests. Most climate finance still flows around them. We built the infrastructure to flow it through them.
Our methodology — ISBM, co-designed with 99+ Indigenous leaders across 25 countries and 55 Indigenous nations — became the world’s first certified biodiversity credit. The credits trade on commodities exchanges. The communities who produce them get 50% of revenue, paid directly, within 60 days. No intermediaries, no offsetting claims, no debt.
We sell six fair-trade climate products: biodiversity, carbon, water, and tree credits, plus ecotourism and agrobiodiversity crops. Our charitable arm helps communities with land rights, literacy, and bank access.
About this newsletter
Field dispatches, milestones, and the occasional jaguar photo — published when we have something worth sending, not on a schedule. We’re a small team in the Amazon. You’re getting the real work, not a content calendar.
Sections you can opt into:
#SolarPunk — thought leadership on biodiversity markets, Indigenous sovereignty, climate finance, hactivism, and negotiations (crossposted with Drea Burbank’s personal Substack when relevant)
#ISBM— training, explanations, courses, and tutorials on the Indicator Species Biodiversity Methodology
#IBU — explanations, updates, and clarifications on the Interoperable Biodiversity Unit
#SexyTrees — irregular educational content on the protocol, trees, forests, and biodiversity
#JhonysJaguar — direct thoughts from our Indigenous friends, co-founders, and the Selva team
#SoupLadle — for our Friends ring, inside jokes, updates, company news, certifications, deals, milestones, and honest ramblings about the journey
Free to subscribe. We don’t sell or share your email. Unsubscribe anytime — though we hope you’ll stick around.
For the methodology, the unit, or the products: savimbo.com. For questions: ask.savimbo.com.
Drea, Jhony, Fernando, and the team
