Basic Income Pilot (Cool Earth Amazon Basic Income Pilot)
Cool Earth's Basic Income Pilot is billed as the world's first basic income program for Indigenous peoples living in the Amazon rainforest. Launched in November 2023 in co-design with the Indigenous women-led organizations ONAMIAP and OMIAASEC, it provided unconditional monthly cash transfers of 258 Peruvian soles (about $69 USD) to adults across three Ashaninka and Yanesha communities in Peru's Junin region. The two-year pilot, delivered via the AidKit digital cash-transfer platform, aimed to reduce communities' reliance on illegal logging and land-renting to meet urgent needs for food, health, and education. Internal assessments reported improved food security and reduced pressure toward unsustainable forest activities, and an independent evaluation by the University of Bath was expected to publish full results in early-to-mid 2026.
Indigenous Peoples, Conservation Basic Income, Amazon Rainforest, Unconditional Cash Transfer, Ashaninka, Yanesha, Climate Resilience, Deforestation Prevention
Headquarters
- Organization Name
- Cool Earth
- City
- Penryn
- State / Province
- Cornwall
- Country
- United Kingdom
Contact
- Phone
- +44 1326 536 136
- info@coolearth.org
- Social media links
Status & Funding
- Organization status
- Active
- Program status
- Inactive
- Number of recipients
- 211
- Funding type
- Nonprofit, Philanthropic, Research Pilot
Benefits
- Currency Type
- Fiat
- Total Amount
- 1,656
- Avg. Per Month
- 69
- Payment frequency
- Monthly
- How long the program lasts
- 24 months
- Distribution Type
- Digital cash transfer via AidKit platform (specific instrument - bank transfer, debit/virtual card, or cash agent - not publicly detailed)
- Benefit details
Adults in three selected Ashaninka and Yanesha communities received a fixed monthly unconditional cash payment of 258 Peruvian soles (about $69 USD, ~ £58/£2 per day) for approximately 24 months (November 2023-November 2025), disbursed via the AidKit platform, which supports offline registration and secure payment processing for areas without reliable internet or banking infrastructure. Cool Earth's own materials describe money as going 'directly to individuals' in some pages and to 'the mother of each family' in others, so the exact individual- vs. household-level distribution mechanism is not fully consistent across sources.
Eligibility
Overview
- Eligibility details
Eligibility was limited to adult (18+) residents of three specific pre-selected Ashaninka and Yanesha Indigenous communities in Peru's Amazon (Junin region), chosen by Cool Earth together with ONAMIAP and OMIAASEC based on existing partnerships and the communities' known interest in conservation and reforestation. There was no open public application; all adults within the selected communities (211 people, reported elsewhere as 188 adults) were registered and enrolled directly. Exact community names/locations are kept confidential by Cool Earth for participant security.
Demographics
- Minimum age
- 18
- Race / ethnicity targets
- Indigenous Ashaninka and Yanesha peoples
- Language
- Ashaninka (data-collection interface and interviews conducted in Ashaninka, Spanish also used nationally, not explicitly confirmed as a program language)
Financial
- Banked status
- Unbanked, Underbanked
Citizenship
- Tribal enrollment required
- Yes
Geography
- Countries covered
- Peru
- Counties covered
- Junin region (exact community locations undisclosed for participant security, area sits within the UNESCO Bosques de Neblina-Selva Central and Avireri-Vraem biosphere reserves)
- Residency of Target Geography
- Yes
Participation
- Research / data sharing
- Required
- Research / participation requirements
Participants took part in periodic qualitative and quantitative surveys/interviews (some conducted in Ashaninka via the AidKit platform) as part of Cool Earth/ONAMIAP/OMIAASEC internal program assessments, plus an independent academic evaluation led by the University of Bath's Department of Social & Policy Sciences (results expected in 2026).
Application Process
- How to apply
No public/open application process. All adults in the three pre-identified partner communities were registered directly by Cool Earth field teams together with ONAMIAP and OMIAASEC using the AidKit platform (community census/enrollment); individuals could not apply independently.
- Selection process
The three participating communities were purposively selected (not randomly) by Cool Earth together with ONAMIAP and OMIAASEC based on pre-existing Cool Earth partnerships and the communities' known interest in conservation and reforestation, following roughly three years of co-design (from about 2020/2022 through the November 2023 launch). Within the selected communities, participation was extended to all adult residents rather than being individually competitive.
