The Cofan Survival Fund

Fundación para la Sobrevivencia del Pueblo Cofan

Founded in 1999, the Fundación para la Sobrevivencia del Pueblo Cofan (Cofan Survival Fund) is a non-profit 501c3 organization with Cofán leadership dedicated to the survival of the Cofán indigenous culture and its Amazonian rainforest environment.

We are committed to biodiversity conservation and research, protecting our ancestral territory and its natural resources, developing environmentally sound income alternatives, and educating our youngest generation. The FSC works closely with FEINCE, the Ecuadorian Cofan Indigenous Federation, and hopes in the future to expand the model of its successful indigenous conservation programs to new groups and areas.

The Founder and Executive Director of the Cofan Survival Fund is Randy Borman. Randy was born in the Cofan village of Dureno and grew up hunting, fishing, speaking Cofan and living as any young Cofan does, while simultaneously learning English and “western” values from his American missionary parents. His education has been a mix of ancient Cofan knowledge of the forest and jungle life with a western academic education.

The Cofan Survival Fund is the US branch of the FSC, an incorporated 501(c)(3) non-profit organization set up to receive and administrate all donations made from abroad. The administrative costs for the both the FSC & the CSF are extremely low, and every effort is made to channel all funding received directly into our projects, whether that be tuition fees for a young Cofan studying in Quito or the buying food for our Park Guard Ranger program.

In 1998, Randy accepted the Parker-Gentry Award from the Field Museum of Natural History of Chicago in recognition of his efforts to protect the Cofan lands and culture.

In 2000, Randy coordinated and helped lead a Rapid Biological Inventory with Field Museum and local scientists participating in a month-long analysis that led to the protection of more territory.

Randy is considered one of the Cofan nation’s most important and respected leaders by the Cofan themselves. He is also a recognized leader of Ecuadorian environmental and conservation related issues, and continues to work closely with various national and international non-governmental organizations.