The Trust was initially run by Graham Falvey an estate owner from Scotland, and its first trustees were anthropologist Graham Townsley and Felicity Nock, Alan’s Assistant on the film who was also an Edinburgh trained anthropologist, and Edward Goldsmith who was the co-founder of The Ecologist magazine. The late Sir James Goldsmith, (Edward’s brother) and Jonathan Porrit, Akong Rinpoche from the Tibetan monastery in Esdkalemuir and Leila Luce, an early American supporter became patrons. The Trust was represented in America by Nina Reznick, a New York-based lawyer. She published newsletters in the US and generated substantial grants from American bodies. Sales by the BBC of the film ‘From the Heart of the World’ enabled it to be transmitted in the USA.  This increased the reach of the film and additional private film showings all helped to raise funds for the Trust.

In 1996 the Trust was administered briefly by the University of Wales at Lampeter when Graham Falvey was a student there. When he left, he handed over to Luci Attala, but changes at the University in 2004 brought this arrangement to an end and Alan Ereira returned to the Trust establishing a database of supporters and regular donors.  Private screenings continued to be made but in addition gifts of the film on DVD and a paperback copy of the ‘behind the scenes’ book were made to encourage more people to donate.

It was the Trust's supporters who helped to finance the second film, Aluna, in response to a direct appeal. New trustees came on board together with an administrator, Janet Wilson, who had worked for Alan many years ago in BBC Radio. 

In 2020, Dr Luci Attala, now Associate Professor in Anthropology, Fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Science and Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, returned as a trustee.  Luci champions experiential and active learning as the route to empowering graduates to be able to seek solutions to today's global problems.

Since 2020, the Trust has been developing an academic research project in collaboration with the Kogi and their representative organisation, OGT, called ‘Munekan Masha: Reviving Water in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta’. Múnekañ Masha, meaning ‘let it be (re)born’,  is a trans-disciplinary, collaborative, ecological restoration project, endorsed by the UNESCO-MOST BRIDGES Coalition. The project hopes to support the Kogi people, to influence global land management methods by disseminating their techniques to a wider audience. 

In 2024, Dr Luci Attala was appointed Chair of the Trust when Alan Ereira stepped down and retired. Luci and the trustees are currently looking for ways to finance this first-of-a-kind project.

If you want to help finance this project, please consider supporting the Trust.