Nikita Llerena

Focus Areas

Nikita Llerena is the Co-Founder of Aîbaibu Kayawai – Women Who Heal. The enterprise produces handmade bio-jewelry created by Indigenous Huni Kuin women from the Brazilian Amazon. It aims to promote income generation and autonomy for Indigenous women, provide a platform to share their stories, and leverage ancestral art as a way to keep the forest’s culture alive.

Llerena is a poet, storyteller, cultural producer, and Co-Founder of the Iris Institute – a not-for-profit organization that uses art, education, and cultural events as tools for social, political, and environmental awareness. She has worked in different peripheral settings from an early age, including refugee camps, favelas, Indigenous villages, and agroecological rural settlements, both independently and through organizations like Choose Love and Teto. Llerena holds a degree in International Relations from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

“As a visionary leader, my goal is to connect diverse communities through art for peace building.”