Returning forests
to the hands
that know them.

Est. 2011 · Americas

Rootline restores ancestral woodlands alongside the Indigenous stewards who have cared for them for generations — through land title, reforestation, and long-term partnership.

Give today Our approach
Dense forest canopy with sunlight filtering through Yawanawá territory, Acre
Light through forest trees
Hands holding a young sapling

Our mission

A forest doesn't recover. It's recovered — by someone.

We work with 27 Indigenous-led councils across Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, and southern Mexico. Our role is narrow on purpose: secure the legal title, fund the stewardship, and then get out of the way.

"The forest doesn't need saving. It needs its people back." — Txai Suruí, council partner since 2018

Every dollar is tracked against a specific hectare, a specific family, a specific agreement. We publish the ledger quarterly. We don't plant monocultures. We don't fly drones where elders have asked us not to. We listen first, always.

By the numbers · 2011–2025

1.2M
Acres protected
Across 27 legally titled territories
3,400
Families supported
Direct livelihood partnerships
89%
Of funds to field
Independently audited, 2024
0
Outside trustees
Councils hold every vote

Field dispatches

Three stories from the last season.

River winding through dense tropical forest

Title victory · Brazil

After 12 years, the Paiter-Suruí hold the deed to their headwaters.

A quiet ceremony on a Tuesday morning ended a legal battle older than most of the children who attended it. 84,000 hectares now protected in perpetuity.

Read dispatch · 6 min
Young saplings being planted

Reforestation · Peru

The seed bank the grandmothers built.

A living library of 312 native species — most of which exist in no government archive.

4 min read
Forest path lined with tall trees

Livelihoods · Ecuador

A cacao co-op that refused the middleman.

Direct trade, fair price, full traceability. And the forest stays standing.

5 min read