ROOTS Fellowship Foundation, fiscally sponsored by Modern Spirit, has announced funding for four new projects to safeguard Indigenous spiritual traditions in Colombia, Kenya, and Gabon. The foundation supports education initiatives and community-led healing programs designed to keep ancestral knowledge rooted in local governance and cultural integrity.
ROOTS — an acronym for Reviving Our Origins, Traditions & Spirit — was established by three co-founders: Salome Augustine Bissa Kopasz, Krisztian Kopasz, and Marvin Vivas Rodriguez. Based on personal experience in Cameroon, Hungary, and Colombia, the founders believe vital healing traditions are rapidly disappearing.
“In Africa, when an elder passes away, a library burns. My grandmother was the medicine woman and leader of her village. When she died, there was no one to carry her role forward. ROOTS exists to change that story — not just for her community, but for every lineage at risk,” said Salome Kopasz, Co-Founder & Executive Director.
The urgency of ROOTS’ work is underscored by a global reality: about 1,500 Indigenous languages and their knowledge are at risk of disappearing. The communities that speak these languages collectively steward 40% of the world’s remaining intact forests, yet their knowledge keepers face what international observers have described as a grave risk of physical and cultural extermination.
ROOTS addresses this crisis by empowering elders, spiritual leaders, and their chosen successors with resources. Rather than introducing outside frameworks, the Foundation works from within each community. Each supported project identifies a lineage holder and their apprentice, covering basic living and educational costs to allow full immersion in spiritual training — a years-long commitment that cannot be combined with conventional employment.
“These traditions are not museum pieces. They are living systems of healing that entire communities depend on. We are here to ensure the next generation of lineage holders can actually do their work,” said Marvin Vivas Rodriguez, Co-Founder.
The four community-led programs span Africa and South America:
Inga Community — Putumayo, Colombia
Traditional wisdom workshops are held monthly for 40–50 students in midwifery, traditional arts, and medicinal preparation. Sessions take place alongside communal Yagé ceremonies conducted by Taitas from both the High and Low Putumayo.
Arhuaco Community — Sasaima, Colombia
This initiative supports Mamo Lorenzo Izquierdo, an internationally recognized Arhuaco spiritual leader, and funds the complete training of his son as the community’s future Mamo — a lifelong vocation demanding total dedication and offering no conventional income.
Duruma Community — Kwale County, Kenya
Focused on protecting the Duruma Kaya lineage and its sacred forest traditions, this project supports mganga Baba Mwatela Masai and his successor daughter, Sipi Mwatela, through her multi-year apprenticeship encompassing healing drums, herbal knowledge, and ceremonial practice.
Y’azo Leyissa Academy — Bilandzambi, Gabon
Founded by Yorick Ossavou Mombo, who credits traditional Gabonese medicine with his own recovery from addiction, this ancestral knowledge academy offers 11 preparatory modules in ritual practice, plant knowledge, and Iboga medicine to 25 students per academic year.
ROOTS Fellowship Foundation is currently accepting donations through its fiscal sponsor, Modern Spirit. All contributions are tax-deductible for U.S. donors. To support a project or learn more, visit www.rootsfellowshipfoundation.org.
