AruSvati (formerly The Tengri School of the Ecology of the Spirit) was established in 1995 to protect the sacred Karakol Valley of Altai in Russia as well as its traditional knowledge and Indigenous culture. The organization established Uch Enmek Nature Park – named after the sacred Uch Enmek Mountain that is at the core of the valley – as a protected area. The organization also developed the Ot-Ochuk Cultural Center, which is a “federal experimental educational site” that networks five schools in the Karakol Valley. These and other programs make it possible to help guide the social and economic development of the Karakol Valley on the basis of traditional knowledge and to involve the local community and government in this process.