Quillarumiyoc lies about one hour to the north of Cusco.  The campesina community, which lives within the archeological zone,  still retains the consciousness of the cultural legacy and history that this site possesses.  Our project begins with this community.

There are three main objectives to Poqen Kanchay's intervention into the Quillarumiyoc area.  They are social, economic and cultural. 

Underneath at least nine feet of earth, lies an original terrace system, equipped with an advanced water system.  The terrace system not only offers an area capable of producing more food with less labor, it also offers a hydraulic system which works to control erosion and allows for year round farming.  With training and technical help, the campesina community of “San Martin de Porras” will be able to restore and use this terrace system.  In addition to having better agricultural system, the community will also gain the expertise of restoration and management of such a system. This system is not only technologically further advanced than what is being built today but also is the agricultural legacy of this community.

With the restoration of this site comes a variety of ways that the community can economically empower itself.  The first is the skilled workers the project will produce.  Members of the community will not only have been trained in the field of restoration but will have hands on experience.  In the Jaquijahuana Valley alone, there are two other major sites.  The members of the community who have learned this trade, will also be able to help the community maintain the terraces, once restored. 

The terraces will offer unique ecosystems for the farming of traditional foods.  With this terrace system under production, Quillarumiyoc would be one of only a handful of sites in the Cusco area that includes producing terraces.  It will offer the opportunity to share the traditional foods and medicinal plants of the area not only with the community but with tourists, increasing the area's interest.  This area holds strong agricultural potential, but, more over, it is a storehouse of religion, ideology, esoteric consciousness and spiritual theology of the Andes.  These places were constructed with care to their geographical configuration, artistically designed, and created for specific purposes that we still do not  completely understand. 

At present, the area is accessible but only to those who are willing to walk on unsure paths.  The site is not accessible without a guide.  Through this project, a proper path will be made to the various huacas (sacred and holy space) of Quillarumiyoc.  The huacas then become the center of economic development for the people.  The members of the community can be trained as guides, explaining the true cultural and spiritual value of the site. 

In this way Quillarumiyoc holds the potential for not only mystical/spiritual tourism but all tourism, as the quality of the terraces and the system of agriculture will always draw people.  Many people are going to great lengths to see original Inca terrace systems in use.  From engineers to Pacific Northwest farmers, Quillarumiyoc, being only one hour from Cusco,  will stand as a working model for those interested. 

The cultural aspects of this project are evident in many ways.  Quillarumiyoc is a sacred site with preliminary studies dating it over 3200 years old.  It is the agricultural, technological and artistic manifestation of a people who expressed their cosmology in every aspect of their existence.  It is a giant temple to feminine energy and light.  There are few masters that still recognize the true usage of this temple. With the two principle huacas of Quillarumiyoc being cleaned, the fertile soil used and the community benefiting from sharing the knowledge that this site holds, that number should increase.

In many communities in Peru, one can see the effects of a third world country looking towards Western practices as its new salvation from poverty.   With electricity to the communities, came the television and Hollywood ideas of the components of "a good life".  At the same time, though, westerners are looking at native communities to try to find new ways of existing in this world.  The Quillarumiyoc area would offer a unique experience of an indigenous culture, still growing the foods of the time of the Incas, maintaining the customs, dress, language of their ancestors, and retaining the usage of their sacred sites or temples.  In this way, the community will be offering Westerners and other communities a chance to experience a life style that seeks to express the existence of humans on this earth through creating a relationship of harmony and balance with the mother earth.  Quillarumiyoc will stand as a model of the Andean Cosmic Vision. And the people living in the community will regain their personal pride in continuing the lifestyle of their ancestors.

With the support of the AMB Foundation, a non profit organization based in the United States, and IFAD (International Fund for Agricultural Development), Poqen Kanchay has begun working at Quillarumiyoc in April 2000. The web site will be posted with progress reports.

Poqen Kanchay is classified a not for profit organization in Peru.   For  more information on our projects, or to be informed when more information is available, please Contact Us!