In Peru's Amazon, a no-strings basic income fed families — and the forest kept standing

For two years, 211 people in three Indigenous communities in Peru's Asháninka region received something simple: cash, with no conditions. The Cool Earth pilot — the first basic-income trial for Amazonian Indigenous people, analysed by the University of Bath — paid transfers of 1,032 soles (about $300), worth about £2 (about $2.70) a day, alongside community-led training. Households unable to afford nutritious food fell from 73% to 26%; meal-skipping dropped from 49% to 22%; and the share forced to leave home for precarious work fell from 43% to 18%. Close to 90% adopted greener practices, including native reforestation and restoring water springs. 'Cash makes a massive and immediate difference to people's lives,' said Bath's Dr Neil Howard.

SDG 1 · No poverty — Mechanism: funding & finance