Aqueduct
We are stewards.
There’s a grounding quality of life that emerges when our choices involve genuine care for other species - the steadiness that comes from tending, the coherence of attention given to living systems, the way the body settles when what we do honors life.Aqueduct is an online marketplace where this caring thrives — where honoring animal sovereignty is revealed as essential for ecological flourishing and truly satisfying and economically viable for humans.Here you can discover and connect with businesses honoring these principles - purchasing products, booking services, finding collaborators, and accessing resources that support animal sovereignty.Honoring animal sovereignty means protecting and creating conditions where animals can truly thrive. This shapes everything - how we work, what we build, the daily choices we make - all directed toward supporting the capabilities of species we live among.
Aqueduct opens new possibilities everywhere.
Here are a few:A hotelier discovers …
that serving plant-based & cultivated cuisine eliminates harm to animals while planting native habitat landscaping provides refuge for local wildlife, using mineral clay paints avoids toxic runoff into nearby streams, and waterway-safe cleaning products protect aquatic life - these choices don’t compromise excellence, they enhance it, creating guest experiences where beauty and integrity align because honoring animal sovereignty strengthens every dimension of hospitality.A city planner maps…
wildlife corridors through urban areas, shaping infrastructure that supports habitat connectivity - making space for both human communities and the migration patterns essential to ecological health.A land manager finds…
a bat house maker 50 miles away through Aqueduct's regional filters - someone she'd never have discovered otherwise. His backyard craft gains visibility across the state and internationally, becoming a viable livelihood.Athletic wear companies partner …
through Aqueduct to coordinate coastal restoration - funding dive teams to recover ocean waste, mobilizing community beach cleanups, processing materials for new products, and creating celebration events that strengthen local bonds.An elephant researcher develops
collaborative networks with scientists, funders, and educators, transforming decades of ecosystem documentation into resources and recognition that influence communities and policies.
Aqueduct flows hydrating resources.
Aqueduct welcomes everyone
into this work - whether you’re discovering what’s possible, already practicing, or supporting those who do.Through connection and marketplace infrastructure, we create pathways where different talents and capacities nourish each other.Each in their own world, all of these are working toward the same horizon:Material networks
Redesigning materials and production — leather from mycelium, pineapple and other plants, biodegradable, marine-digestible alternatives to plastic packaging, and the systems that bring them to market.Habitat protection systems
Preserving migration routes and ecological integrity.Sanctuary networks
Providing refuge and coordinated care.Plant-based supply chain infrastructure
Connecting farms, processors, distributors, and markets.Conservation technology
Tracking environmental and ocean health, identifying gaps, and mobilizing partnerships and resources.Together, we’re building an economy of appreciation - where honoring the beauty, vitality, and essence of other species becomes how we all thrive.
We see a world where creatures are busy being happy.
Not someday, somewhere else — but here, now, through the choices we make and the systems we build.People are already realigning their work around animal flourishing. They’re reworking their disciplines, forging new pathways into the world we see emerging.Aqueduct helps you discover
who’s building it.
We’re building it together.
I’m Kari Dougherty, founder of the nonprofit Aqueduct. My background includes tech marketing and online community building at Microsoft and a Master’s in Ethics and Peace from American University in Washington, DC, where I encountered Martha Nussbaum’s influential
Capabilities Approach to Justice.Martha Nussbaum provides a list of ten central human capabilities, the eighth is our capability to care for other species. Aqueduct provides ways to engage that care. It helps us organize our choices - in work, play, investment, co-creation and partnerships - in ways that increasingly support the capabilities of other species and the wellbeing of the habitats we share with them. Animal capabilities are the topic of Nussbaum’s book Justice for Animals: Our Collective Responsibility.I recently returned to Palo Alto, drawn by the intersection of ethics, technology and transformation - and to find collaborators who see this vision. If you’d like to help build it or participate in what’s emerging,
I invite you to join us.Right now, early participants join by sharing their work through a simple form linked below, which helps us understand how to best serve you.Thank you, Martha Nussbaum, for helping us recognize that caring for other species leads to our flourishing.
Images
Bird watching me, Cape Lookout
Mineral painted walls, Marrakech
“The Aqueduct” Portland Art Museum
Beaver foraging, Lake Washington
Backyard garden, Crescent Park
Bee & Rose, The City of Roses
© 2026 Aqueduct