About AKEC

Amazon King International Educational Center

A registered nonprofit organization in Peru, working at the intersection of education, research, and community-based conservation in the Peruvian Amazon since 2018.

Who We Are

Working at the intersection of research, education, and conservation

Amazon King International Educational Center (AKEC) was founded in 2018 in Peru with a clear purpose: to build a long-term platform for education, community development, and environmental conservation in the Peruvian Amazon.

From the beginning, AKEC was designed to be field-based and community-rooted. Our programs are not delivered from offices in Lima or abroad. They are developed and implemented in the Amazon, alongside the communities that live and work there.

Over the years, AKEC has grown into a multidisciplinary organization with programs spanning community education, health, sustainability, applied research, and academic field programs. The Amazon Field Institute, an academic and research initiative of AKEC, was developed to formalize our work with universities and research institutions. 

We are not a large organization. We are a focused one. Our size allows us to move carefully, maintain genuine community relationships, and build partnerships that last beyond a single program cycle.

What Sets Us Apart

Three things that define how we work

01

Field-based and locally grounded

Every program, research initiative, and community project AKEC runs is implemented in the field, not designed from a distance. Our team lives and works in the Amazon. That proximity is what makes the work credible.

02

Legally registered with international cooperation capacity

AKEC holds full registration with APCI, IPREDA, and SUNARP in Peru. This gives us the legal foundation to partner formally with international universities, receive international funding, and operate as an accountable institutional partner.

03

Communities remain at the center of all programs

At AKEC, community relationships are not a program component. They are the operating condition. Research happens because communities agree to it. Programs are designed because communities identify the need.

Get In Touch

Registered, authorized, and accountable

AKEC holds legal registrations in Peru that authorize us to operate as a nonprofit, receive international cooperation, conduct research-related activities, and enter into formal institutional agreements.

APCI | Agencia Peruana de Cooperacion Internacional

Authorized for international technical cooperation. This registration enables AKEC to formalize partnerships with foreign institutions and receive international cooperation funds.

IPREDA | Inscripcion en el Registro de Entidades

Authorized to receive international donations for educational, welfare, and developmental purposes.

SUNARP | Superintendencia Nacional de los Registros Publicos

Formally registered legal entity in Peru. Organizational scope includes education, research, community development, and environmental conservation.

Candid and Guidestar Transparency Seal

Nonprofit transparency certification recognizing open reporting, accountability, and organizational credibility.

An academic and research initiative of AKEC

The Amazon Field Institute

The Amazon Field Institute is the formal academic and research channel through which AKEC partners with universities, hosts research teams, and delivers field-based programs. It was developed as AKEC’s institutional response to growing interest from universities and researchers who wanted to work in the Amazon but needed a credible, registered, locally grounded partner to make that work possible.

The Amazon Field Institute is not a separate organization. It operates fully under AKEC’s legal registration, institutional capacity, and community relationships. When you partner with the Amazon Field Institute, you are partnering with AKEC.

Leadership

The team behind the work

Roosevelt Garcia-Villacorta, PhD

Director of Research and Field Programs

Roosevelt brings years of field research experience in the Peruvian Amazon, with a focus on ecology, biodiversity, and community-based conservation. His academic work spans peer-reviewed research, field-based instruction, and long-term collaboration with regional and international institutions.

He leads AKEC’s academic programs, coordinates research partnerships, and serves as the primary point of contact for university and institutional collaborations through the Amazon Field Institute.

Where We Operate

Based in the Peruvian Amazon

AKEC is based in Iquitos, Peru, the largest city in the world inaccessible by road, sitting at the heart of the Peruvian Amazon. Our field operations extend into the surrounding river systems, forest areas, and communities that make up the broader Amazon basin.

Email: info@akec.org
Phone: +1 77 0374 3640
Location: Iquitos, Peru

What We Stand For

The values that guide the work

01

Presence

We believe that long-term presence in a place is the foundation of credible work. AKEC operates in the Amazon because we are from there and embedded in it, not visiting it.

02

Honesty

We do not overstate what we do or what we can offer. Our communications, partnerships, and program descriptions are precise and accurate.

03

Reciprocity

Every community relationship, research partnership, and institutional collaboration is built on the expectation of mutual benefit. We do not take without giving back.

04

Long-Term Thinking

The Amazon is not a short-term project. Everything we build at AKEC is designed to outlast any single program, grant cycle, or partner relationship.

Work With Us

If you believe in this work, let's talk.

Whether you are a university, a researcher, a community partner, or a supporter, we are glad to explore how a relationship with AKEC could be meaningful for both sides.