IBO-TRUTH Fund

IBO-TRUTH Fund: Respect the Root, Protect the Future

The IBO-TRUTH Fund is a living initiative of preservation, planting, and cultivation — rooted in the belief that Tabernanthe iboga and Voacanga africana are not only sacred plants of Africa but essential allies in global healing and cultural continuity. As their use expands across the world — particularly in therapeutic, medical, and spiritual settings in the West — so too must our collective responsibility grow to protect, cultivate, and honor their origins.

In recent years, global demand has surged, driven by retreat centers, therapists, and individuals seeking profound healing. While this growing interest reflects the deep value of these plants, it has also given rise to unsustainable harvesting practices. In many regions, more is being taken from the wild than replaced, with little reinvestment into local ecosystems or communities. Ancient iboga shrubs — some decades or even centuries old — are being lost at an alarming rate.

IBO-TRUTH is created to reverse this trend: shifting the global iboga paradigm from extraction to responsible planting and cultivation.

A big part of the Fund’s mission is the preservation of old-growth iboga shrubs — genetically unique, spiritually revered, and biologically irreplaceable. These "teacher plants" are never harvested for root bark. Instead, they are protected through land stewardship, fencing, and ecological monitoring, serving as living genetic banks for future cultivation and seed production. Protecting them means safeguarding the vitality and sacred essence of iboga for generations to come — both in indigenous ceremony and modern/western healing work.

True sustainability, however, is more than protection — it’s education. That’s why IBO-TRUTH invests deeply in intergenerational knowledge transfer. Young local farmers are trained by elders carrying deep agro-spiritual wisdom, learning everything from seed germination and soil health to companion planting and ecosystem care. Through community-led nurseries and education, this wisdom is preserved and passed on, ensuring that cultivation is very important for a healthy balance in the future.

In addition to training and preservation, the Fund is actively engaged in reforestation and ethical cultivation. IBO-TRUTH purchases and protects land across Central and West Africa, establishing sanctuaries for iboga and voacanga. These areas are cultivated using regenerative agricultural techniques rooted in local ecological rhythms — always planting more than is harvested and reversing destructive cycles of extraction.

Beyond cultivation, IBO-TRUTH serves as a bridge between the ancestral ceremonial knowledge of African iboga traditions and the growing clinical and therapeutic use in the West. The Fund envisions a future where iboga is globally accessible but locally grounded — with cultural respect, environmental care, and fair economic exchange at its core.

To support this vision, IBO-TRUTH also functions as a global platform and ethical certification model. Partnering retreat centers and facilitators commit a portion of their revenue to the Fund, creating a circular economy in which Western benefit directly supports African planting and cultivation, education, and conservation.

Importantly, the Fund also addresses financial barriers to healing. Recognizing that many who seek iboga are facing deep trauma, addiction, or major life transitions, IBO-TRUTH offers partial funding to individuals who cannot afford treatment — access to a treatment is based on need and if there is enough financial capacity to cover partly the treatment.

In the end, the IBO-TRUTH Fund is more than a conservation effort — it is a living ecosystem of healing, reciprocity, and respect. It protects not just the plants, but the people, places, and spiritual lineages that carry them.

By honoring ancient shrubs, safeguarding genetic diversity, empowering communities, and cultivating a culture of responsibility, IBO-TRUTH stands for ensuring that Tabernanthe iboga and Voacanga africana continue to serve humanity ethically, sustainably, and powerfully — for the future generations to come.

“Healing must give back. And the future must be rooted in truth.”