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Tribal Store

Tribal Store is an online store set up by the American Heart Walk Foundation to support Q’ero people in the remote mountain villages of Peru, and to help safeguard their unique culture and weaving traditions.

Tribal Store buys textiles, ponchos, hats, jewelry and other beautiful handicrafts directly from the Q’ero artisans in their own villages, at fair trade prices. The organization makes sure to purchase something from every family, then sells the products online, with international shipping possible. Since Tribal Store is run by unpaid volunteers, the entirety of the profits generated from the sales is used to further develop the Q’ero communities, including investing in education, food security and health projects.

When you buy a fine woven craft from Tribal Store, you receive along with your purchase a photo of the weaver and a description of their village, so you can connect with real Q’ero people and know you truly are making a difference in their lives. Furthermore, choosing Tribal Store is making an ethical, sustainable choice and giving much needed income to a poor family, all the while getting your chic on with a bright-coloured, warm poncho no one else has! No-brainer, isn’t it? 

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  • Providing economic stability to dozens of vulnerable families
  • Preserving & honoring the Q'ero rich heritage & traditions
  • Raising funds to advance heath & education in remote mountain areas
  • Developing Q'ero villages & communities by boosting their textile industry & promoting their unique skills

Ausangate Mountain
Andes, Peru

More about the Q'ero weavers

The Q’ero people are a Quechua ethnic group settled in the most remote places of the Peruvian Andes, a geographic advantage which allowed them to survive the Spanish conquest. The estimated 2,000 Q’ero individuals still calling the high mountain villages home are famously known as the last living direct descendants of the Incas. Their cultural history is very rich, and weaving clothes or household objects from animal fibers is one of their most ancient traditions, making them heavily reliant on their animals, especially llamas, alpacas and sheep. In their one-room houses, Q’ero families sleep on sheepskins. Women create textiles on small portable looms they roll up and carry across the steep mountains, so they can weave anywhere and any time. The children learn their skills by observing their parents and playing with other children. A Q’ero girl will learn how to weave when she is 10 years old. 
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Do you love this cause? Support it with a gift!

If you don’t think a fluffy Peruvian hat suits your personal fashion style, instead of shopping please consider making a direct donation. Your gift could put a Q’ero child through school, finance medical care or even fund new infrastructure. The latest success story is a new high school built in the clouds (at an altitude of over 3,600m, or 12,000 feet): thanks to the generous support of donors everywhere, Q’ero kids do not need to leave their families to go study anymore! You, too, can be a part of this. Thank you for them!

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Local Charities Worldwide is a foundation officially registered  in the Netherlands under KvK n°81608268.
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