Clean Water and Empowered Participation: Scaling Regenerative Infrastructure Systems in the Amazon

In this episode of Investing in Regeneration, Mónica Altamirano de Jong is joined by Nancy Santullo, founder of Rainforest Flow, and Samuel Schwan, board president and philanthropist, to explore a powerful, place-based model delivering clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services to indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon.

What begins as access to clean water evolves into something much deeper: improved health, strengthened social cohesion, empowered communities, and healthy forest and freshwater ecosystems that ensue. Nancy and Samuel share how a community-driven, culturally integrated approach, built over 20+ years, has not only reduced disease dramatically but also fostered cooperation, local ownership, and long-term sustainability.

▶️ How Community-Driven WASH Systems Transform Health, Ecosystems & Social Cohesion

00:00:00 Introduction to Investing in Regeneration

00:04:06 The Rainforest Flow Model: Water, Sanitation & Community Ownership

00:09:32 Theory of Change and Paradigm Shifts

00:16:31 The Birth of Rainforest Flow

00:23:17 Samuel’s Journey: Emergency Response to Philanthropy

00:26:48 Designing Resilient, Adaptive Water Systems

00:33:17 Barriers to Scaling: Policy, Procurement & Investment

00:40:10 Funding: Philanthropy, Fees & Long-Term Sustainability

00:49:15 Climate Resilience and Portable Infrastructure Design

00:52:47 Participation, Ownership & Indigenous Leadership

00:59:19 Bottlenecks: Investment in Ecosystems vs. People

01:04:10 Lessons for Scaling Regenerative Infrastructure

Notable Quotes:

“Clean water is the entry point, but transformation is the outcome.” - Nancy Santullo

“The results don't line up with what you're hoping for when you don't meet people where they're at, listen to them, and work with them throughout the entire process. I think that's the Rainforest Flow success model.” - Samuel Schwan

Connect with Nancy & Samuel:

📱 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nancysantullo/  

📱 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samuel-schwan-b9753a338/ 

💻 Website: https://rainforestflow.org/ 

Connect with Mónica:

📱 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/altamiranomonicaa/ 

💻 Website: https://altamira-regen.com/ 

Produced by Ideablossoms