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LIFE IN THE VILLAGE The Q’ero people invited Heart Walk Foundation volunteers into their village, homes, and hearts to share thousands of years of collective understanding and experience of living in balance with all our relations: human, plant, animal, and spiritual. The Community and the People
The Q'ero village includes a number of elders and shamans, or paq’os, who still practice authentic Incan and pre-Incan ceremonies. Because of their isolation, some of their ritual and cultural practices have been preserved. The shamanic tradition in the community is very strong, and the older men are quite protective and concerned about the maintenance of their culture and shamanic ways. Their healing work is done in their local community, where there is no medical clinic and no visiting medical services.
 The people of the village receive no services from the Peruvian government except a teacher for ages 6-9 and materials in Spanish even though they do not know Spanish. Quechua is the language of the people for centuries. The government has provided no medical care, no roads, no electricity, no clean water, nor any form of training. Q'ero women are shy, gracious, hard working and strong. They rarely leave the village. They marry young and have up to five children. Almost half of their children die from malnutrition and lack of medical care. The women work in the potato fields, herd alpacas and llamas, and take pride in weaving beautiful brightly colored wool and alpaca fabrics.  All their work is hand spun, dyed and woven. Many of their weavings are for ceremonial purposes, or for clothes, coca leaf bags, ponchos, scarves and hats. Their weavings contain traditional sacred symbols and motifs and reflect their strong cultural heritage. The women weave as they see the cosmos: as a whole tapestry, as the entire fabric of existence. “I weave as Pachamama weaves our lives.” Weavings include symbols reflecting the cosmic vision of the Q’ero people.  
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Conditions of Life
Malnutrition All villagers suffer malnutrition. The diet consists almost entirely of various forms of potatoes and other tubers with limited salt, sugar, and oil. Occasionally an egg or meat is consumed. Diets lack breads, fruits, vegetables, proteins, and vitamins. Water-born parasites and animal parasites further contribute to poor health and malnutrition.
Healthcare There is no access to modern healthcare. The community has never had a visit from a doctor, nurse, or dentist. Disease - The infant mortality rate is 47%. Easily preventable diseases kill a high percentage of children and adults due to the lack of healthcare, malnutrition, and unsanitary living conditions. Open cooking fires in the house add the risk of flesh burns, smoke inhalation, and ear and lung problems. The villagers need education in basic first aid, hygiene, and sanitation practices.  Economy The villagers lack means to earn a living to purchase essential food items and living materials (food, dishes, shoes, etc). With no roads to their region, they live many days’ walk from the city. They have never received any training or economic development. Social Problems Few of the villagers receive any education, and that is very poor and limited to third grade. The people lack knowledge of the national language, Spanish, to navigate in the city. There are tremendous pressures on the traditional cultural practices. Centuries of genocide, enslavement, and oppression have taken a great toll on the culture. The people lack cash income to purchase items to sustain their families and to maintain cultural and spiritual practices of crafts, dances, music, and ceremonies. Villagers risk human rights abuses, exploitation, and robbery when they travel to cities to sell crafts and to purchase essential supplies. Other Problems and Challenges The Peruvian government exhibits an astonishing lack of political will to provide basic human services such as healthcare, appropriate education, sanitation, potable water, etc. The villagers do not yet understand appropriate management of the small amount of trash in their village. Travel outside the village requires an arduous all-day hike to reach the nearest dirt road. From there, to reach a city requires a treacherous all-day ride on the back of a gasoline transport truck. There is no electricity, no water, and no appropriate human waste management. Only a handful of the villagers speak a little Spanish. All members of the community are essentially illiterate.
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Food and Economics
Food is cooked indoors on little fires with no chimney. Thatched roofs provide limited draw for the smoke. Since the village is above the timberline, firewood must be carried from the cloud forest below, a 4-hour hike with the wood on one’s own back. Each family has a cooking pot or two to boil potato soup, which is drunk from metal bowls. Potatoes are also roasted directly on animal dung, which supplements the precious wood fuel.  A cluster of roasted potatoes is served to the family on a woven cloth. In this land with no furniture, the family sits around this cloth on the ground, peeling potatoes in their hands and eating them plain.
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Culture and Traditions
One primary aspect of this principle of right relations lies in the principle of Ayni (aiy-nee). Ayni can be expressed as an exchange, a kind of reciprocity, where each person or group gives to the other. Ayni is not a social obligation; rather, it stems from the fundamental organization of all of life: that each of us lives in an interconnected web and depends on one another more than we will ever know.  This principle of Ayni also recognizes that Pachamama, or Mother Earth, -- the plants, animals, lakes, clouds, and so forth -- all provide food, water, shelter, and all the essentials to one’s survival and wellbeing. In return, one gives back to Mother Earth: prayers, appreciation, stewardship, and gifts. For without the gifts of the Apus, we are nothing; we cannot even exist.  Before the Invasion of the Spaniards, the Andean people gave to Pachamama and the Apus their finest gifts through religious ceremonies and offerings. They gave gold and silver, foods and art, and ceremonies of music, song, and dance in appreciation to Pachamama. Today the Andean people are so destitute that their finest gifts are little replicas made of paper and clay to represent the traditional gifts to Pachamama.  Yet today the principle of Ayni exchange and connectedness is still woven into the tapestry of life. This fundamental principle can teach us how our own wellbeing depends on the wellbeing of others in our homes, communities, and the world and guide us in our relationships and guide us to become more fully human
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Traditional Medicine and Health Care The people want to strengthen their traditional medicine and to have access to modern medical health care. Traditional Medicine Human relationship to Pachamama and all beings (human, animal, plant and spiritual) is the fundamental basis for all of life to the Q’ero people. Q’ero ceremonies are integral to their spiritual life and livelihood since relations with Pachamama and the spiritual world determines one’s wellbeing. The shamans, or paq’os, have special responsibilities and burdens to help the people be in right relations with all beings. Their responsibilities include diagnosing health and spiritual problems and invoking assistance from the spiritual beings, or Apus, in the healing and well being of individuals, families, animals, crops, and the entire community. Traditional medicine includes the use of Andean herbs and plants, many of which are not easily available since the economy of barter and trade has been replaced by cash economy. Health Care There are no modern medical services available to the people of Hapu. The community has never had a visit from a doctor, nurse, or dentist. Heart Walk Foundation is working with other NGO’s to provide vitamin and mineral supplements, basic health supplies, and training for community members in basic first aid, medical care, and prevention, with emphasis on reviving centuries of knowledge of local native medical plants.
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