Peru Project

Welcome to our Peru Project! In this section we offer a varity of handmade crafts, original music and homegrown Peuvian Coffee ~ all of which we have purchased from Pervian artisans!

By purchasing these products, you can help the wonderful people of Peru earn a fair price for thei products. The profits from every purchase of these items will be dontated to a variety of charitable Peruvian organizations.
Now the llama and alpaca communities can begin to give back to the country that has given us so much enjoyment through alpacas and llamas!

Chris' Peruvian Connection
I first travelled to Peru in March of 2006 with a small group of llama owners from the United States. The purpose of the trip was two fold: to see and experience the natural beauty, history , archeology and culture of this wonderful country; and, to learn more about how llamas and alpacas live and how their fiber is utilized.
I came back however with so much more than this. I fell in love with the country and the people who live there. Peru is a country rich with amazing natural landscapes; rich with images of llamas and alpacas grazin peacefully at the base of the Andean Mountain Range: rich with culture and tradition; and, rich with people who have learned to live and thrive through incredible adversity and poverty.

There is a Spanish saying that translates roughly into English as follows: "Peru is a country full of beggars sitting on a bench of gold." The irony of all this richness in the face of such poverty has struck with me and is something I now think about all the time.

Since that first visit in 2006, I have returned to Peru two more times to further explore this fascinating country, its culture, and its people. I have climbed to the Sun Gate at Macchu Picchu to see the sun rise. I have hiked through the steaming jungle in Iquitos hoping to see an elusive blue butterfly while doging giant mosquitos. I have ridden for endless hours on rickety old buses up and down the narrow winding mountain roads visiting small isolated villages where I was warmly welcomed into the lives of people there. I have eaten things that I probably never should have eaten and hope to never eat again. And I cannot wait to go back. It is not so much about the experiences I have had...it is more about the relationships I've made...the lives I've touched and the lives that have touched me.

The products that we offer in this Peru Project have come from these relationships. Profits from the sales of these products will, in a variety of ways, help to touch the lives of people in Peru by directly contributing to the quality of life of the artisans, as well as by providing monetary support to various charitable organizations in Peru.

I hope to make many more trips to peru...to learn more...to bring back more products...and to touch more lives.

Together we can change the lives of generations to come...one person at a time. Thank you so much for your support.

~ Chris ~