Q'eros Botanical Catalog Project

In the summer of 2015, I spent two months In Peru working with the Q'eros people to build a Hampi Wasi, or Home of Healing, together. This project was funded by the Davis Projects for Peace Foundation and private donations (from people like you!) On the front page of this fundraiser, you can see the Hampi Wasi with the red roof, in Qochamoqo, Q'eros Nation. Thank you to everyone who gave for this last project, it made a world of difference. 

Today I am asking for your help again. This summer I will be living in Q'eros for a month to help train some of the younger community members on how to create an electronic catalogof their traditional botanical medicine. We will be interviewing healers together and collaborating on what sort of interface to use for the catalog. I have also set time aside to speak with community members about what an "all encompassing" definition of health could and or should be for our collective humanity for the 21st century. Although the Q'eros people have healed their own people for centuries, their nation is being affected by external influences, such as climate change melting their glacial water supplies. I believe, and I know the Q'eros people do as well, that if we want to achieve health and wellness on a global scale, the definition of health itself, conventionally considered to be the absence of disease, must be expanded. Only by including prevention, societal wellness, the health of the planet and other factors I hope to explore with the Q'eros people, can we achieve a global revolution in health equality that can benefit ourselves, one another, and those who come after us. 

I have acquired funding for a large portion of the project from The Center for Health Equity at Dartmouth College, however some expenses remain uncovered. I hope to use the money raised for the following purposes:

$300 - Augmentation of the compensation for the team of community members who will help me conduct the interviews while in Q'eros. 

$100 - Purchase of a camera to digitally document the botanical medicines for the catalog. 

$150 - In country travel (such as bus fare, and a possible trip to the amazon portion of Q'eros Nation to see a wide variety of the medicinal plants).

$200 - Purchase a laptop that can remotely document updates to the catalog, to be used by the school children and healers. 

Thank you for all of your help! I depart on the 15th of June but will keep the campaign open hopefully until the goal is reached! I will update the page with photos during and after my travels. Feel free to contact me with any questions or shared excitement regarding the work! [e-mail geredigeerd] 

Un abrazo, 

Patrick