Camino Verde is a team of farmers, foresters, and ecologists working to regenerate the Peruvian Amazon.
Meet the team…
Robin Van Loon – Executive Director
Founder and Executive Director of Camino Verde, Robin has lived in the Tambopata province of the Peruvian Amazon since 2004. A long-time student of traditional and indigenous agriculture and medicinal practices, his work has focused on developing community-based reforestation strategies to regenerate important endangered plants of the Amazon. He is a writer, regenerative designer, and consultant in agroforestry, reforestation, and regenerative development.
Estefania Wayna – Chief of Operations
Born, raised and educated in Puerto Maldonado, Estefania has a degree in ecotourism from the National Amazonian University of Madre de Dios UNAMAD. Her work experience to date has focused on administrative management of conservation projects. Starting in 2019, Estefania holds the position of Chief of Operations for Camino Verde, which inspires her to grow and work as a team. One of her great passions is enjoying the adventure of experiencing new places for their culture and nature.
Photo: Shahrzade Ehya
Olivia Revilla – Farmer Outreach Advisor
Born and raised in Lima but with maternal family ties to Madre de Dios, Olivia moved to the region full time in 2006 and earned a BS in forestry at UNAMAD. Before joining Camino Verde she worked as a forestry technical assistant with CIFOR on the implementation of Analog Forestry systems in the region. As the Farm Coordinator at Camino Verde's main reforestation center, she actively managed the implementation and monitoring of agroforestry systems and oversees the production on non-timber forest products for over 5 years. She sees her work with Camino Verde as an extension of her commitment to the forest.
Blair Butterfield - Communications Director
Blair’s background spans from organic farming to fine art. She led the development of urban sustainability projects in Miami focused on access to healthy food for underserved neighborhoods. As an environmental educator, she developed permaculture gardens with schools for in-classroom learning and food resiliency. As a board member of the Environmental Education Providers of Miami-Dade County she coordinated a network of organizations helping conserve the Everglades and Biscayne Bay. Her formal education is from Central Saint Martins London, the San Francisco Art Institute, and more recently she earned a unique MFA from the University of Hartford studying regenerative culture throughout the Americas. Her artistic work includes ethnographies of food systems and more recently, portraits of plants and their human stories – which can be seen on Camino Verde's website and social media outlets.
Juan Rafaele – Nursery & Distillation Manager, Camino Verde Baltimori
Born in Apurimac, since 1999 Juan lives in Madre de Dios, where he built his family and his farm with a great diversity of native fruit crops. With a varied background in timber and even briefly artisanal mining, he has mainly been dedicated to agroforestry over the last 30 years. His Santa Rosa farm is one of Tambopata’s most impressive examples of diverse agroforestry systems in production. Since 2012 he has collaborated with Camino Verde, more recently taking on leadership in the CV Baltimori tree nursery. For the last 5 years he has been the main distillation technician in Camino Verde’s essential oil production in Madre de Dios. He is a leader in camaraderie and is proud to be part of the CV family.
Photo: Marco Simola
Percy Leva – Reforestation Coordinator
From the imperial city of Cusco, Percy has lived in Madre de Dios since 2000, where he studied forestry engineering at UNAMAD. He has worked in the Ministry of Transport and Communications on the construction of the Billinghurst Bridge, as well as another building company in the construction of a public school. Since 2016 he has worked at the Camino Verde La Joya forestry nursery, where he has planted thousands of seedlings, representing hundreds of species of plants. Percy has coordinated the CV La Joya nursery starting in 2020 and undertook the role of reforestation officer for CV in 2022. His professional aspirations include specialization in the restoration of degraded areas, bringing forests back to life.
Lizbeth Chávez – Operations Assistant
Born in Cusco, at the age of 19 Lizbeth first visited Madre de Dios and was amazed by the Amazon, the richness of its biodiversity. Studying ecotourism at SENATI Institute, her work experience has focused on guiding ecotourism experiences in ecological lodges in the region. She considers working with Camino Verde to be an opportunity to be part of a strong team and explore new work challenges, growing professionally and taking on management responsibilities and higher level coordinations. She is fulfilled in her family and a proud mother.
J. Carlos García – Regional Coordinator, Camino Verde Loreto
Originally from Andalusia, trained as an agronomist at the Escuela Superior de Ingenieros Agrónomos y de Monte in Cordoba, Spain. Resident of the Peruvian Amazon since 2008. Author of the book "Chacras Amazónicas: Guía para el manejo ecológico de cultivos, plagas y enfermedades". Winner of the "Fausto Cisneros Vera" award at the LII National Entomology Convention of Peru. Diploma in Meliponiculture from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics of the Autonomous University of Yucatan, Mexico. Specialist in the extension and research of Meliponiculture (breeding and sustainable management of native bees) since 2011, and in the organic management of farms in rural and native communities. Since 2020 he has been part of the Camino Verde family, coordinating projects in the Loreto region, extending agroforestry knowledge in native Bora and Huitoto communities. Proactive, enthusiastic, hard-working, environmentalist.
Elvis Ancón – Agroforestry Field Technician, Camino Verde La Joya
Born in Yarinacocha, Ucayali region, where he also attended school, Elvis worked in several logging companies and was a boat assistant in Pucallpa. For the past 8 years Elvis has lived in Puerto Maldonado, where he practices the use of medicinal plants for healing purposes, knowledge he acquired from his parents at a very young age. In his free time he prepares medicinal plant extracts as remedies. Since 2014, Elvis has been working at Camino Verde; the first trees of Camino Verde La Joya were planted by him. As a connoisseur of the diverse values of trees, Elvis is committed to reforestation and is proud to be part of this group of reforesters.
Froilan Rodríguez – Agroforestry Field Technician, Camino Verde Baltimori
Native of Loreto, with long periods of his life spent traveling different Amazonian river basins, Froilan has lived in Madre de Dios for more than 15 years. Working as a skilled chainsaw operator in artisanal timber production for much of his life, his knowledge of Amazonian flora and fauna is extensive. He has worked at CV Baltimori since 2017 as an agroforestry field technician while wearing a variety of hats, from boat driving to botanical identification of native species. Broadly experienced with native bees and honey production, Froilan sees his work with Camino Verde as an extension of his desired lifestyle, close to the forest, in health and harmony.
Jacmen Lopez - Agroforestry and Distillation Technical, Camino Verde Loreto
Born in a native community in the Ampiyacu River basin, Loreto, Peru, Jacmen studied the technical craft of jewelry made with rainforest materials and attended various trainings over the years: craft making workshops, reforestation, climate change and even social workshops, such as the Alternatives to Violence Program (APV). He has been a technician in agroforestry and distillation of rosewood (Aniba rosaeodora) for sale and export in the form of essential oils for nearly five years. As part of these labors, he also coordinates reforestation activities in different native communities and supports rosewood management training.
Klaus Barbagelata – Assistant Coordinator, Camino Verde Loreto
Originally from Loreto. Living closely with Amazonian communities – native, indigenous, farmer – for the last 7 years, and at the same time, the degradation of the Amazon forest, made Klaus a firm believer in the importance of conservation and environmental education. Environmental activist with field experience in communities, natural conservation areas and wildlife. His work with Camino Verde since 2020 has focused on community relationship building and agroforestry of native tree species in Bora, Huitoto, and Asháninka communities.
Abraham Ancón – Assistant Coordinator, Camino Verde La Joya
Born in the native community of Colonia Caco, Ucayali region, in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon, raised with the mentality of protecting the forest as a result of teachings inherited from “my ancestors, guardians of nature.” Living in Madre de Dios since 2012, he is happy to be raising his family in this region known for its biodiversity. Starting in 2020, Abraham has worked in the CV La Joya nursery and agroforestry parcels. He is a proponent of the conservation and recovery of endangered tree species and continues to both learn from his CV team mates as well as share some of the knowledge he carries from his community.
Lean Crespo - Assistant Coordinator, Camino Verde Loreto
From Lima, but from a very young age in constant contact with the green world and its wonders, Lean has a firmly forged love for nature and a conviction to protect it. She studied Agroforestry Engineering with the purpose of being able to intertwine social, environmental and economic outcomes while giving life back to the soil. On this path she participated in agro-ecological projects and in an evaluation of agroforestry systems in Ucayali, Peru. She is currently based in Iquitos, working with the Camino Verde Loreto team and native communities as an assistant coordinator.
Mauricio Arhuire - Research and Volunteer Coordinator
Learning every day from the forest, from our visitors and from the stories they bring with them, Mauricio appreciates and values those who visit us at Camino Verde Baltimori, a place of many good memories and inspiring hope. He strongly believes that Camino Verde's strategies are a source of food security and environmental sustainability, with relevance and importance to a variety of disciplines. He was born in the city of Lima, studied Agroforestry Engineering, and today pursues his passion for research intended to put science and knowledge at the service of the development of a more just and egalitarian society.
Alejandro Zevallos - Production Coordinator, Camino Verde Baltimori
Alejandro has extensive and diverse agroforestry experience, from the management and production of desert-grown fruit trees, to expeditions to the Amazon in search of new vanilla species. Now in the Tambopata province, he is working to master the management of regenerative agroforestry systems and to help give greater value to our natural resources. In the near future he hopes to work with native communities to help develop value-added products that promote the sustainable use of forests and natural resources.
Advisory Council
Photo: Shahrzade Ehya
Ursula Leyva – Senior Administrative Advisor
Formerly CV’s Admin Director, Ursula is a member of the board of Camino Verde Tambopata, our Peruvian legal organizational branch. Originally from Lima, Ursula has called Madre de Dios home since 2005. She has worked as the administrator of an eco-tourist lodge, the director of a non-profit organization focusing on environmental education for children, and in the United States as a counselor at an alternative outdoor education program. For over 5 years this Permaculture design consultant led CVT's legal and accounting presence.
Photo: Andrew Schwarz
Campbell Plowden – Senior Research Advisor
A current CV board member, Campbell has worked for tropical forest conservation since 1985 with groups including Greenpeace, the Environmental Investigation Agency, Amazon Watch, and the Humane Society of the U.S. He earned a Ph.D. in Ecology from the Penn State University Graduate Ecology Program based on his studies of non-timber forest products with the Tembé Indians in the eastern Brazilian Amazon. This work was largely supported by a Kleinhans Fellowship from the Rainforest Alliance. He has since published numerous articles on this and other tropical forest issues. He also facilitates conflict resolution workshops with the Alternatives to Violence Project (AVP).
Manuel Huinga – Forestry and Botany Advisor
Born and raised on his grandfather's farm on the Tambopata River, Manuel holds a BS in forestry and environmental science from the National Amazonian University of Madre de Dios UNAMAD. He has participated in numerous research projects including the management of a diverse nursery for the Andes to Amazon Project of the Botanical Research Institute of Texas. With over ten years of experience in identification and propagation of forest species of the Peruvian Amazon, Manuel was a key member of Camino Verde's team for 7 years. Retiring from active staff in 2019, he leaves the legacy of founding our first three forestry nurseries. We are honored for Manuel to continue to advise on our programs.
Juan Chillihuani – Agro-Forestry Advisor
Born in Puerto Maldonado, Juan holds a degree in Forest Engineering from the Universidad San Antonio Abad del Cusco and a in teaching from the Universidad Nacional de Educación Enrique Guzmán y Valle. His passion is the conservation and sustainable management of the natural resources of his region. From 2008 to March 2019, he worked as a research collaborator with a project directed by Dr. Varun Swamy, coordinated by the Center for Tropical Conservation (CTC) at Duke University in the United States. In the future he aspires to consult and advise associations, communities and people interested in sustainable forestry management of the forestry and non-timber forest products of Madre de Dios. He worked with Camino Verde in 2019-2020 as Farm Coordinator for one of our agroforestry sites.
Family, Team and Community
banner photo thanks to Jesús Alferez
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