About us
The Alliance
Alianza Wichí is an organisation created to support ecological, cultural and community regeneration processes alongside Indigenous Peoples of the Argentine Gran Chaco.
We work from a simple and profound conviction: there can be no real conservation without the communities that have cared for these territories for generations. The native forest is not an empty space. It is home, food, medicine, spirituality, memory, language and knowledge.
Our role is to build bridges between Indigenous communities, scientists, technicians, artists, foundations, companies and international donors to strengthen projects born from the territory and responding to concrete needs: water, healthy food, forest restoration, cultural defence, community infrastructure and youth training.
Alianza Wichí operates from Spain and Argentina, facilitating international partnerships and channelling resources towards direct-impact projects in communities of northern Argentina.
Our Operational Team
Get to know us
Reina Nancy López
Weenhayek Cultural Advisor
Nancy is a Weenhayek leader, communicator and advocate for Indigenous territorial and cultural rights in the Gran Chaco. As a member of the Oka Puckie community, she advises Alianza Wichí on local knowledge, intercultural dialogue, gender and women’s and youth participation. She helps ensure that restoration, agroforestry, artisanal production and territorial defence reflect community priorities. Nancy also supports the coordination of GLFx Wikina Wos, advancing Indigenous-led restoration and food sovereignty. Her work brings a vital territorial, community-based and women-led perspective to Alianza Wichí.
Fidelina Díaz
Chorote Cultural Advisor
Fidelina is a Wikina Wokiy—“woman of the northern wind”—from the Chorote people. She supports Alianza Wichí’s cultural guidance by safeguarding oral traditions and sharing knowledge rooted in her community. As a songwriter and composer, she helps carry ancestral memory through music and storytelling. Her work strengthens the cultural foundations of Alianza Wichí’s initiatives and ensures that community identity remains central to every process.
Delfina Salvat
Director Argentina
Delfina leads Alianza Wichí’s work in Argentina, coordinating programmes, teams and partnerships across the Gran Chaco. She works closely with communities and technical staff to ensure that projects are implemented with care, transparency and long-term continuity. Her role connects field operations with organisational strategy, helping transform shared priorities into concrete action in restoration, food sovereignty, infrastructure and cultural strengthening.
María Eugenia Suárez
Research Coordinator - Ethnobiologist
Euge is a biologist and ethnobiologist whose research explores the links between Indigenous health, environmental change and biocultural knowledge in the Gran Chaco. Working in collaboration with CONICET and academic partners, she brings scientific research into dialogue with community knowledge and lived experience. Her work informs conservation, restoration and food-sovereignty strategies rooted in the protection of both ecosystems and cultural heritage. María Eugenia helps ensure that Alianza Wichí’s projects are guided by rigorous research, long-term monitoring and respect for Indigenous ways of knowing.
Sebastián Gómez
Territorial Coordinator
Sebastián coordinates the day-to-day implementation of Alianza Wichí’s work in Tartagal and neighbouring communities. He connects community priorities with technical teams, partners and local authorities to ensure projects move forward effectively. His work oversees reforestation, tree nurseries, agroforestry and food-production initiatives. Sebastián helps ensure that each intervention remains grounded in the territory and aligned with Alianza Wichí’s long-term regenerative vision.
Renata Guagnini
International Cooperation
Renata supports Alianza Wichí’s international cooperation strategy, helping connect community-led work in the Gran Chaco with funders, institutions and strategic partners. She contributes to the development of proposals, partnerships and reporting processes that strengthen the organisation’s long-term capacity. Her work helps translate territorial priorities into clear, credible opportunities for international collaboration and sustained impact.
Juayuk - Juan de Dios López
Wichi Forest Expert
Juayuk is a guardian of the Chaco forest whose deep ancestral knowledge helps guide Alianza Wichí’s ecological restoration work. His understanding of native species, forest regeneration and traditional propagation techniques—including the use of fungal spores—contributes to the recovery of degraded landscapes. His spiritual relationship with the living forest reminds us that regeneration is not only technical, but also cultural, ethical and deeply relational.
Dalila Balderrama
Tree Nursery Manager
Dalila coordinates forest production across Alianza Wichí’s community tree nurseries. She leads the propagation and care of native species for ecological restoration, agroforestry and family gardens. A skilled trainer, she supports Indigenous youth to develop practical knowledge in nursery management, planting and restoration. She also contributes to the coordination of projects in the territory, ensuring that production responds to local ecosystems, community knowledge and long-term goals.
Abel Rojas
Agroforestry Coordinator
Abel coordinates Alianza Wichí’s agroforestry systems, family gardens and community food-production initiatives. He works alongside communities to combine native species, nutritious crops and regenerative practices adapted to the Gran Chaco. Through practical training and field implementation, he helps strengthen food sovereignty, soil health and long-term community resilience.
Pablo Lanouguere
Regenerative Design & Agroecology
Pablo advises Alianza Wichí on regenerative design, agroecology and long-term land-use planning. His work integrates permaculture, ecological mapping, native food systems and restoration strategies to strengthen agroforestry and community food production. He helps develop practical models that reconnect reforestation, soil recovery, water management and local livelihoods across the Gran Chaco.
Candela Rodriguez
Wichi Tree Nursery Assistant
Candela Rodríguez is a young Wichí trainee supporting Alianza Wichí’s work in community nurseries, restoration and local training processes. Her participation strengthens youth leadership and helps connect practical fieldwork with the knowledge, needs and aspirations of younger generations. Through her role, Candela contributes to building local capacity, community continuity and a new generation of Indigenous stewardship in the Gran Chaco.
Martin Kraft
Executive Director - Founder
Martín began working with Indigenous communities in the Gran Chaco nearly 20 years ago, while studying anthropology at the University of Buenos Aires. He leads multidisciplinary teams in the co-design of regenerative projects, impact strategies and long-term partnerships rooted in community priorities. His work combines cultural preservation, territorial defence, ecological restoration and strategic communication to connect local knowledge with wider audiences and decision-makers. Martín also develops strategic alliances that expand Alianza Wichí’s reach, visibility and capacity for lasting change.
María Cecilia Jezieniecki
Indigenous Advocate
Cecilia coordinates Alianza Wichí’s legal defence and community training on Indigenous rights. Her work supports access to justice and strengthens the protection of land, cultural heritage and environmental rights. She helps communities navigate legal processes and build the tools needed to defend their territories over the long term.
Fernanda Vargas Barón
Indigenous Advocate
Fernanda works closely with Indigenous communities to advance legal strategies for land rights, territorial protection and environmental justice. She supports advocacy and defence processes that respond to threats such as deforestation, dispossession and environmental harm. Her work reinforces Alianza Wichí’s capacity to protect community rights across the Gran Chaco.
Lorena Gaida
Accounting & Legal Officer
Lorena oversees Alianza Wichí’s accounting, financial administration and compliance processes in Argentina. She helps ensure that resources are managed transparently and responsibly, supporting accurate budgeting, reporting and the financial sustainability of projects across the Gran Chaco.
”Mónica
”Weenhayek
Our Board of Directors
Alianza Wichí is guided by a distinguished Board of Directors bringing together expertise in ecology, anthropology, Indigenous rights, regenerative finance and international cooperation. The Board provides strategic oversight, ethical governance and high-level advice to strengthen the organisation’s long-term vision. Its guidance helps ensure that every initiative remains aligned with Indigenous self-determination, biocultural regeneration and community-led development across the Gran Chaco.
Lourdes Casasola
Ecosystem Restoration, Biocultural Finance & International Cooperation
Lourdes advises Alianza Wichí on ecosystem restoration, appropriate technologies and international cooperation. She specialises in biodiversity indicators, carbon frameworks and regenerative finance, with a strong focus on aligning global funding mechanisms with ecological integrity and social justice. She brings extensive experience working alongside Indigenous communities, particularly in relation to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) and the ethical stewardship of biocultural knowledge. Her role helps connect community-centred regeneration with broader systems of sustainability, advocacy and international support.
Satish Kumar
Spiritual Ecology, Regenerative Education & Global Thought Leadership
Satish Kumar is a renowned author, peace activist and leading voice in ecological thought. Founder of Schumacher College in the United Kingdom and former editor of Resurgence & Ecologist, he has spent more than five decades advancing spiritual ecology, regenerative education and nonviolent social change. His work is grounded in simplicity, interdependence and reverence for the Earth. His guidance brings an important international perspective to Alianza Wichí’s commitment to ecological justice, cultural dignity and Indigenous sovereignty.
Jorge Marseillan
Strategic Finance, Investment Planning & Organisational Growth
Jorge is a finance professional with extensive experience in corporate and project finance. He served as Chief Financial Officer for WeWork LATAM in New York for more than five years and now works as an independent consultant in São Paulo, developing financial plans for large-scale real estate projects. He brings strategic financial insight to Alianza Wichí, helping shape funding plans, strengthen financial planning and support the effective delivery of long-term initiatives.
Juan Martín Leguizamón
Indigenous Rights, Cultural Heritage & Ethical Research
Juan Martín is an anthropologist and academic leader with more than four decades of field experience alongside Indigenous communities in the Gran Chaco. He serves as General Coordinator of the Indigenous Affairs Programme in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Buenos Aires and chairs its course on research methodologies with Indigenous Peoples of Argentina. His work with Wichí, Qom, Nivaclé, Chorote and other communities has focused on identity, memory, cultural heritage and community-led development. His long-standing commitment to ethical research and Indigenous rights strengthens Alianza Wichí’s cultural and territorial approach.
