Ordinary Dharma

We are raising funds to bring the Instituto Taki Community Center to life — a sanctuary in the Sacred Valley of the Incas (Cusco, Peru), rooted in community and devoted to preserving the ancestral wisdom of Andean and Amazonian traditions through music, language, and ceremony.

Founded by renowned Peruvian composer, ethnomusicologist, and cultural guardian Kike Pinto — who has spent his life learning, preserving, and sharing the musical languages of the Andes and Amazon — alongside his wife and lifelong teacher Lourdes Monrroy, Instituto Taki will serve as a living archive and intercultural space for study, experience, and transmission of ancestral knowledge.

We are thrilled to share that Instituto Taki has secured a beautiful piece of land in the community of Huayoccari, in the district of Huayllabamba, province of Urubamba — in the heart of the Sacred Valley. This land will become the home of the Taki Center: a space where traditions can take root, flourish, and be passed on to future generations.

This is more than a building — it’s a legacy project. The Taki Community Center will include:

– A classroom and language school for the teaching of Quechua and Spanish

– A music school and recording studio to document and share endangered traditional songs and instruments

– An exhibition space and museum to house Kike Pinto’s personal collection of rare Amazonian and Andean instruments, carefully gathered over decades of cultural research and fieldwork

– A Maloca — a traditional ceremonial structure and sacred gathering place — to host community events, ancestral spiritual practices, workshops, and retreats

– A community garden to support ecological education and plant-based healing

While securing the land is a major milestone, we still need your help to bring this vision to life. Your support will help us begin construction and activate this sacred space as a resource for local communities, indigenous youth, and global allies committed to cultural preservation, regeneration, and reciprocity.

▶️ Watch the video to hear directly from Kike about the vision and why it matters: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azOWqIB-o6Y&feature=youtu.be

Learn more at: www.institutotaki.org

Your contribution — no matter the size — helps us build this dream.

With gratitude and reverence,

The Instituto Taki Team

A Note from the Sponsor of this campaign:

We have known Kike Pinto since he first came to Ordinary Dharma’s retreat center at Manzanita Village two years ago. We are partnering with Kike and Lourdes through Colores de Abundancia, a non-profit organization based in Peru, to help his amazing work supporting indigenous communities and cultural and musical traditions in the Sacred Valley. Kike and Lourdes embody the authentic tradition of the Andes in a way that radiates from them, in their presence, in their dedication to teaching and keeping these traditions alive, and in their natural humility and ease of being.

We respect how much, like us, Kike and Lourdes are very hands-on. All the money raised in this and other campaigns goes directly to Instituto Taki.

Caitriona Reed and Michele Benzamin-Miki. Ordinary Dharma