PEOPLE NOT STONES— The Sustainable Preservation Initiative (“SPI”) has been busy this year empowering entrepreneurs, alleviating poverty and preserving the past! Our paradigm utilizing community-based economic development to save archaeological sites and create jobs where they are most needed continues to demonstrate remarkable results. Lives transformed and looting stopped are only two of our exciting outcomes. We are thrilled to announce that we are taking our paradigm, long successful in Peru, into Guatemala.
NEW COUNTRY-GUATEMALA!
In January we will begin a project at the famous Maya site of Kaminaljuyu (shown above). Most of Kaminaljuyu is now buried under Guatemala city, while the remainder does double duty as one of the city's few green spaces. The site remains in danger from urban development, and provides no economic benefit to the surrounding community. SPI means to change that!
SPI will partner with Maria Pacheco's
Comunidades de la Tierra (Communities of the Earth) and
Kiej de los Bosques, highly-regarded Guatemalan organizations that empowers women entrepreneurs and strengthens their communities, as well as the highly regarded archaeologist Barbara Arroyo and Central America's top-ranked INCAE Business School. Together, we will train a cooperative of poor women living near the site in business and production skills in order to produce a Kaminaljuyu line of
Wakami bracelets for sale both at the site as well as in retail locations around the world.
PRINCESS ASTRID OF BELGIUM VISITS PACHACAMAC PROJECT
One of SPI's most important mission is to spread the word about power of community based economic development, and the remarkable if untapped potential of the residents of poor communities. Having heard of our work, last month Princess Astrid of Belgium visited the women entrepreneurs of the SPI project at Pachacamac, Peru. Princess Astrid was treated to an exhibition of the graphic design skills of over twenty local women who utilize ancient iconography in modern logos and symbols that are included in a variety of products---and as you can see she was quite impressed! Princess Astrid was leading an official Belgian trade and economic mission to Peru, so don't be surprised if you see some SPI artisan products next time you pass through Brussels!
SPI'S EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DELIVERS A CHARLA MAGISTRAL
Our Executive Director Larry Coben recently was honored for SPI's work and gave a charla magistral (roughly translated, a keynote lecture) at the Universidad Católica Santo Toribio de Mogrovejo, Lambayeque, Peru. The honor was conferred for SPI's role in saving sites and transforming lives throughout Peru, and in particular in the Lambayeque region, where both the San Jose de Moro and the Chotuna project are located. Coben's talk on entrepreneurial empowerment and poverty alleviation through community based development utilizing archaeological sites was held in a sold out hall filled with students, faculty and other local leaders. Several students are interested in pursuing career paths related to sustainable preservation and tourism. Expect collaboration in a variety of fields between the University and SPI in the future...we need an army of new students to implement our paradigm throughout the world.
We need your help to continue our work. Help us save sites and transform lives. Here’s what your contribution can do.
$50.00 allows the weavers at Chotuna-Chornancap to spin a kilo of native cotton.
$250.00 allows mothers of the San José de Moro Community to provide lunch to 70 tourists.
$500.00 trains 10 community members for a month as artisans at our Pachacamac or Bandurria projects.
$2,000.00 trains 25 women for a month in the Wakami way.
Make a donation or give an SPI Membership as a gift online today!
You can also donate to SPI when you shop at Amazon. SPI is a registered Amazon Smile charity, so please bookmark or start shopping on this page and we will receive .5% of whatever you spend on the site. A great way to save sites and transform lives while doing your holiday shopping.
Stay up to date on SPI news by visiting us at our website, official blog People Not Stones, our Twitter (@SPInitiative) Facebook, and Pinterest pages.
Thank you again for your continued support,
Larry Coben and the Sustainable Preservation Initiative
