This week’s snapshot shows the lighter side to cultural heritage preservation!
Taken at the SPI project site of San Jose de Moro, Peru, a group taking part in the annual field school enjoy the Peruvian sunset.
Registration is still open for the 2013 field season – spread the word!
As April 18th is International Day of Monuments and Sites we just had to post our Photo of the Week a day early!
This week’s photo shows the community of Bandurria celebrateing as work is now full steam ahead! Following our People Not Stones 2013 crowd funding campaign, we are well on our way to the construction of a communal artisan training and production centre a local store and an “artisans’ quarter” in the form of a number of house-workshops, one for each family in the community. These workshops will be located adjacent to the archaeological site where four pyramids almost 5,500 years old are located.
Following the success of our recent People Not Stones 2013 crowd funding campaign, we would like to thank the following generous contributors. With your support, work is now under way to save the rich cultural heritage and empower the local communities of Bandurria and Chotuna-Chornancap, Peru.
Gerald Luterman
Meg Lambert
Daniel Sandweiss
Leslie Urdang
Jeffrey Junkermeier
Molly Stern
Michelle Young
Meagan Baco
Carla Silva
Teresa Lintner
Ari Caramanica
Chelsea Duran
Tamara Junkermeier
Bridget Siegel
Robert Mark
Nicola Savageau
Lace Thornberg
Julia Dye
Ana Escobedo
Nathaniel Van Valkenburg
Dougald O’Reilly
Christina Conlee
Greta Isac
Ulrike Green
Diane Englander
Jerry Blackwill
Alison Brower
Jonit Bookheim
Stephen Black
Emily Jackman
Taylor Krauss
Ruth Lewis
Rebekah Junkermeier
Hamish Berry
Cynthia Frederick
Dawn Kikel
Jane Stone
Gregory Urban
George R. Newall
Daniel Julien
Geoffrey Cunnar
Maria Bruno
Michelle Miller
Risa Goldstein
William Glaser
Peter M. Hosinski
Dana Delany
John Crary
Michael Dreibelbis
Brigitte Vosse
Thomas King
Astrid Hasse
Tanya Lervik
Jonathan Dubois
Lucas Kellett
Abby Lublin
Cliff Laughlin
Lawrence Pratt
Felice V. Hubbard
Jack Ho
Eric Schoenberg
Johanna Vanden Hoek
Robin Urdang
Max Meyer
Ralph Drybrough
Kamsheed Siyar
Peter Fagan
Peter Gallagher
Casey Hackney
Deborah Blom
Dany Santos
Willemina Wendrich
Nadia Papponi
In the first of a series of posts, we are introducing the people who make up our organization and our team. Today we’re speaking to Solsiré Cusicanqui, archaeologist and researcher for Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú involved with the SPI project site of San Jose de Moro, Peru.
You obviously have a keen interest in archaeology! Were you always interested in cultural heritage?
“Living in a country like Peru, with such rich cultural heritage, I grew up surrounded by archaeological sites and a strong cultural tradition. But it was through my father’s job that I was fortunate to travel around my country and learn about the rich culture we had, but also the poverty that existed especially in the most remote towns.”
“In Peru we have clear examples of how the appreciation of this heritage can become a source of income and an important identity builder. Starting with important archaeological discoveries, followed by an investment aimed at conservation, preservation and exhibition of them there has been a significant increase in tourism that promotes massive job creation, to name just one aspect, as it is in the case of cities in Lambayeque, Trujillo, and Cusco.”
Where have you trained and how has your career developed until now?
“I got a B.A. in Archaeology at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú (PUCP) where I met Dr. Castillo who was my professor and now boss. I did diverse specializations in my career working on different projects in Peru. I am currently a researcher at PUCP as part of the San José de Moro Archaeological Program, and in charge of the Social Responsibility Project. I have also been working for the SPI organization for the last 3 years.”
How, and most importantly, why did you first get involved with SPI?
“Around three years ago, while working in PASJM, I met the CEO of SPI Larry Coben. We were the first project in Peru to work with SPI and the results were pretty good, so he asked me to join the team. Obviously, I agreed as I believed from the start in this new paradigm.”
What has been your favorite moment working for SPI so far?
“It is hard to think of a single good moment, because my work for SPI has too many. Generally, I like get totally involved in the projects, meet the local people and understand their needs and strengths. It is always great to see these projects begin and grow, watch how the excitement of people gets bigger, turning them into entrepreneurs and learning more about their traditions, which strengthens their identity and turns them into the leading advocates of heritage around them and their heritage.”
“The ability to improve the quality of life of people of my country is the best reward I can get from this job.”
Last but not least, what are your plans for the future?
“I would like to continue training myself in Cultural Management, combining the two things I love the most: archaeology and cultural heritage. I believe that in countries like mine, where more people increasingly value their heritage, we need different development proposals, both economic and social and cultural. I think the SPI paradigm should expand throughout Latin America, and I would like to be part of this process.”
Support and Success
Our crowd funding campaign, People Not Stones 2013 has been an overwhelming success and raised a total of $49,203 surpassing our goal! We had over 100 generous contributors to our campaign to help us alleviate poverty and preserve the cultural heritage sites of Bandurria, Peru and Chotuna-Chornancap, Peru.
The SPI Team would like to extend a huge Thank You to everyone involved throughout the campaign for your contributions, sharing, tweeting and support. As a result of all of your generous contributions, work at both of these amazing cultural heritage sites is now underway. For all who contributed, your perks will be winging their way to you soon.
People Not Stones
Throughout our campaign we have tried to highlight SPI’s ‘People Not Stones’ mission by emphasizing those personally affected by SPI’s work in poverty-stricken communities to date. One such example, Julio Ibarrola, a campesino turned entrepreneur with SPI’s help in San Jose de Moro, Peru. We know that Julio’s success story will be replicated numerous times in Bandurria and Chotuna.
Press Coverage
The success of our campaign would also not have been possible without the recent press coverage our campaign has been getting. Read about SPI’s work and People Not Stones 2013 on Newsweek, in an article by Reuter’s financial columnist Felix Salmon and at the Huffington Post. We were also honoured to be chosen among thousands of other Indiegogo campaigns and featured on the Team Indiegogo Blog.
From all of us at SPI, thank you again for your support throughout this campaign. We will be updating you soon with news from these two new project sites – watch this space!
Our People Not Stones 2013 crowd funding campaign is now less than 48 hours from its conclusion!
Over the past week we’ve witnessed huge support for our cause to alleviate poverty in the communities of Bandurria, Peru and Chotuna-Chornancap, Peru as we broke the $40,000 mark! Throughout the past few days alone our campaign has been chosen among thousands of others to be featured on Team Indiegogo’s blog. The last week of our campaign also saw an article in the Huffington Post featuring the story of Julio Ibarrola, an entrepreneur from the town of SPI’s past project site San Jose de Moro, who has transformed his life from struggling campesino to flourishing artisan. Our goal with People Not Stones 2013 is to repeat this amazing result in Bandurria and Chotuna and empower a new community of entrepreneurs like Julio.
With less than 48 hours and less than $5,550 to reach our goal, please help us with the final push by contributing, sharing and spreading the word about People Not Stones 2013. Join us on our campaign page at midnight tomorrow, Tuesday 26th March to see how we have done and where we go from here!
Upholding similar values to SPI, Mata Traders is an organisation dedicated to fair trade and social and economic development that has recently made a generous donation to our People Not Stones 2013 crowd funding campaign. We at SPI have also been honoured to be named Mata Trader’s ‘Charity of the Month’ in January 2013
Mata Trader’s goal is to make fair trade prominent in the fashion industry. This innovative organisation sells cool clothes and accessories providing more opportunities for women in developing countries to empower themselves and their communities. In their own words;
‘‘Fashion to us is about self-expression and being able to be yourself. That’s true for how clothing and jewellery look and feel, of course, but also for how they should be able to reflect your beliefs and ethics through your purchase of fashion. We want to give women that option. Our philosophy is that women shouldn’t have to make trade-offs between style and ethics.’’
Origins
The origins of this innovative organisation are found among three best friends who after a round-the-world trip which included four months in India, fell in love with the colors and textiles there. One of the three eventually returned; Maureen. After realising the onus on fair trade, she sought out fair trade producers to make some clothing, a women’s cooperative that Mata Traders still works with to this day.
Promoting Change
Mata Traders work with four fair trade cooperatives in India and Nepal, which employ hundreds of artisans having being initially found through research and word-of-mouth.
‘’The cooperatives that make our products work in rural and slum communities with women who have little or no education, many can’t read or write. Because of their work, they can afford to send their children to school and pay for necessities that they couldn’t before.’’
SPI has also been supported more recently by Mata Traders in our current crowd funding campaign. For more information on this fantastic organisation take a look at their website. If you would like to follow in their footsteps and join in their work to empower communities, please contribute to our People Not Stones 2013 crowd funding campaign as we join Mata Traders in alleviating poverty and transforming lives.
Groundbreaking at Bandurria!
We’re at Day 10 of our People Not Stones 2013 campaign. So far we have raised an impressive $16,500, that is 33% of our overall goal! We have made it this far with the help of 49 generous contributors who have donated towards our campaign.
We’re extremely grateful to all who have viewed our page, donated to our campaign and helped us spread the word about People Not Stones 2013.
We will continue to update you on our campaign’s progress throughout it’s duration so watch this space!
We know why this guy seems so happy! He’s just as excited as us about SPI’s upcoming project crowd funding campaign which goes live next week! Our campaign will raise money for our two new project sites; Bandurria and Chotuna-Chornancap. All contributions will help alleviate poverty in these two communities and sustainably preserve the stunning cultural heritage that remains there. With less than a week to Valentine’s Day, why not make a contribution to this worthy cause in the name of a loved one? He already has…!
