Heart Walk Foundation

The native Q’ero people of Peru have been subsistence farmers for centuries, growing potatoes and other tubers on the steep and rocky slopes of the Andes Mountains of Peru.  Their llamas carry 50 pounds of potatoes from distant potato fields to storage huts. Alpacas provide a soft hair for weaving blankets, ropes, clothes, bags, and textiles to sell to purchase basics such as salt and cooking oil. 

All Q'ero villages sit at elevations between 12,000 and 15,000 feet. Because these small communities are widely spaced across the mountains to allow sufficient land for farming and herding, it is very difficult to bring services to the communities, such as schools, electricity, water and sanitation systems.

In 2004 the Hapu Q'ero elders invited representatives of HWF to trek into their remote territories. Every year we return to sit in council, listening deeply to the people of each village as they express their hopes, concerns, and accomplishments. They make proposals to us for partneriships on projects they feel will improve their food security, education, and future of their people.  They do all the manual labor and sometimes share in costs. We fund materials and training they cannot fund themselves. 

We are committed to cultural respect and non-interference in spiritual life of the people. We seek low-tech approaches and local materials. We embrace small-is-beautiful as a guiding principle. 

Join us in this dynamic partnership with the Q'ero people.