In three indigenous Asháninka and Yanesha communities in Junín Province in Peru's central Amazon region, 211 people received unconditional basic income starting November 2023 as part of a pilot program, according to a University of Bath study. Each adult received direct cash payments and could decide freely how to spend the money—six transfers spaced four months apart over two years. The program was organized by the climate organization Cool Earth together with indigenous organizations ONAMIAP and OMIAASEC.
According to the research report, the communities faced economic hardship that forced residents to seek temporary work outside their villages, weakening social cohesion and reducing time for farming and environmental protection. The pilot tested whether financial security at household level could strengthen community land management and conservation instead of replacing it. In addition to cash transfers, the program offered voluntary workshops on finances, indigenous rights, environmental protection, and climate change under a "cash-plus" model, which participants attended frequently.
Hunger declines, savings increase
The study compared baseline surveys from November-December 2023 with final data from 82 participants collected in August 2025. It combined quantitative surveys with 24 individual interviews and three focus groups using the Qualitative Impact Protocol. The share of households unable to afford nutritious food fell from 73% to 26%. The share experiencing hunger without subsequent meals fell from 51% to 21%. Those going a full day without food dropped from 24% to 15%. Work migration decreased from 43% to 18%. Meanwhile, 30% of households expanded their farmland and returned previously abandoned plots to cultivation. The share of households reporting savings rose from 49% to 70%. Credit use fell from 19% to 6%. According to Down To Earth, nearly 55% of households upgraded their roofs with corrugated metal. Households without sanitation fell from 9% to 2%. In interviews, participants repeatedly described the money as a financial buffer that reduced pressure for outside wage work and allowed more time for their own farming. Many linked the financial improvements to the program's financial literacy workshops and reported better understanding of household budgeting. Diet diversity increased, with more fish, meat, eggs, vegetables, and fruit.
Reforestation and mixed findings on women's autonomy
Qualitative interviews documented reforestation efforts, water source protection, reduced forest burning, planting of native species, preservation of indigenous seeds, and community tree nurseries and fish farms. Around 80% of those interviewed reported adopting environmentally beneficial practices, often citing workshops and community discussions. Women's autonomy showed mixed results: quantitative data suggested more joint household decisions about spending, while qualitative interviews found only limited evidence of substantially changed gender power dynamics.
No control group and open questions
Neil Howard, head of the research group at the University of Bath, said the program demonstrates further benefits of unconditional financial support for historically marginalized communities. Cool Earth's Peru country manager Sofia Vargas said the pilot contradicts traditional criticism that basic income creates dependency or reduces work incentives. However, University of Bath researchers acknowledge the study covered only a relatively short timeframe and included no control group. Further research is needed for conclusions about long-term effects and scalability. An internal assessment after one year, in January 2025, suggested the three communities had stopped illegal and unsustainable forest activities for subsistence, according to reporting by Mongabay. Independent evaluations had not yet been completed at that time. That assessment focused primarily on qualitative impacts; forest cover and forest condition data were not collected. Deborah Delgado Pugley, sociologist at Peru's Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, noted that indigenous communities have criticized past government conditional cash programs as inflexible to their needs. Brazil's Revista Amazônia reported unnamed critics in October 2026 warning of possible community divisions when funding ends and of stronger ties to market economies. It remains unclear whether the effects persist after payments end.
Expansion to Colombia planned
Because of different social programs and land rights systems, Peru's experience is not automatically transferable to Brazil, the publication noted.