Testimonials

“Based on the $10,000 I granted with my company - InterActive Corp as a matching donor, GHF has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in Peru from local companies and funded a 4 year conservation program to restore and protect Chavín de Huántar. Both on the mission to Peru and as a donor, I feel like I have made an impact which will be a legacy for years to come.”
Marj Charlier
Director of Community Affairs, Expedia and InterActive Corp.

“Their help has been utterly critical for the conservation of Chavín de Huántar. GHF has supported our Master Planning process bringing together over twenty experts from Peru and internationally, and enabled emergency conservation of the Main Circular Plaza and restoration of the ancient drainage canals and systems which now prevent the site from flooding each year.”
Dr. John Rick, Professor, Stanford University

Human Impact Stories From Chavín de Huántar

Alejandro Espinoza

Left: Alexander Espinoza, Right:Alejandro Espinoza.

Our most interesting impact on lives in Chavín comes from our long-term interaction with Alejandro Espinoza and his family. Alejandro is from Chavín, humble of birth, and has worked on the site since 1996; with the help of the project’s training, he has gone from simple field assistant to being the assistant director of the site. He is now a capable conservator, expert excavator, supremely capable guide, and functioning administrator, effectively the #2 person in the site, although his Ministerio de Cultura position is still not permanent. He continued to work with the project this year, taking leave of his government position for the duration of three months, during which time he served as Conservator-in-Charge under Conservation Director Julio Vargas.

Left: Alexander Espinoza, Right:Alejandro Espinoza.

Alejandro’s teenage son Alexander also joined the project during his extended school vacations and has now started training with the conservation team. He proved to be a very capable field assistant, and showed every sign of following in his father’s footsteps. At the end of the 2011 field season, Alex was accepted to the Archaeology Program in UNASAM, the Universidad Nacional Atunez de Mayolo in Huaraz, where he is now studying for a bachelor’s degree in archaeology with an emphasis on conservation. He will be the first indigenous Chavino with a higher degree in archaeology, and all involved have great expectations for his continued role in the future of the monument of Chavín.

Both are also active as casual participants in the Ceramic Replication Project, as well. Additionally, Alejandro’s wife is an artisan in soft stone sculpture who uses the decorations, symbols and icons discovered in our excavations.