Our Impact Programs
Living Archive of Ancestral Andean Weaving & Wisdom
Cultural Preservation Museum & Community Center
We’ve launched a cultural preservation initiative that honors the Andean cosmovision as seen through the textiles of Indigenous women wisdom keepers, living libraries who carry the memory of their people through fiber, symbol, and oral tradition. Rooted in a non-linear, embodied form of knowledge, this work challenges Western, colonial frameworks by recognizing weaving as a language of resistance, remembrance, and spiritual continuity. Our first step is in Pacchanta, where we are building a community weaving center that will serve as both a creative gathering space and the home base for a long-term documentation effort. Here, Quechua women can gather, create, and teach future generations while also recording the meanings, stories, and ancestral codes embedded in their work. This living archive, envisioned as a future exhibition at the Smithsonian Museum, seeks to elevate Indigenous narratives on their own terms. As the project expands to Paru Paru, Canchis, and Challhuahuacho in the Yanawara territory, it centers feminine wisdom, cultural resilience, and economic sovereignty in regions increasingly threatened by extractive industries and state intervention.
Timeline:
Land is purchased and identified, and construction will begin upon reaching fundraising goals by 2027.
Location:
Pacchanta Region, Ausangate, Peru
Funding Needed:
$150,000 is needed by 2027
Ollantaytambo Women Build Community Center
We’ve partnered with non-profit, Awamaki to expand market access in the Andes. Awamaki creates lasting impact in the remote Andean mountains of Peru by collaborating with women’s cooperatives to build successful businesses in cultural tourism and handwoven fair trade textiles. Women Build is our transformative capital campaign that will establish a new Artisan Center in Ollantaytambo, Peru. The center’s accessible location will allow more Indigenous women to participate in Awamaki's economic development programs, even if they live very far from the tourism market. Artisan crafts in this area are what National Geographic refers to a “vanishing art”; an ancient weaving or embroidering tradition that has been passed down through the centuries by the women in their culture. We’re working toward a textile and hat preservation library to be added into the center, where Artisans can educate visitors about their culture and generational craft and in doing so, aiding in developing a sustainable tours program. The project’s pillars are: Entrepreneurship by giving market access for Andean Women, Sustainable Tourism through authentic and meaningful cultural exchange programs and Women’s Leadership through deep partnership with Artisan Entrepreneurs. Through Awamaki, naming opportunities within the center will be available based on donation giving level.
Timeline:
May 2022 - Land Purchased, July 2024 - Construction Begins, July 2026 Center Opens (This project is run by Awamaki).
Location:
Ollantaytambo, Peru
Funding Needed:
$250,000 is needed to build and run the community center by 2026.
This program creates economic opportunities for artisan groups in Central and South America where livelihoods, communities, and craft traditions are marginal or at risk. We blend a passion for the deep-rooted cultures and handmade traditions of the developing world with a commitment to building profitable businesses. We have partnered with Roots studio in digitizing and licensing the IP of artisan communities in Central and South America that we have built close relationships with. Through this digitization of ancient textiles and designs, we can preserve the language, designs, and oral history of these indigenous communities while helping them to secure royalties and global recognition for their artistry. We are working closely with Andeana Hats and their artisan partnerships to help digitize their artisans' designs and work with local translators and scholars to document and preserve the woven Quechua language and textile symbols. We also host philanthropic tourism opportunities for travelers to aid in the preservation of vanishing crafts.
Timeline:
Project-Based Timeline
Location:
Ayacucho, Ollantaytambo, Peru and Santa Cruz, Guatemala
Funding Needed:
$5,000 per year
