How you could help the alpaca farmers of the high Andes survive in their mountain homes
When you live at 4,600m you know all about the depths of poverty
With your help Quechuan communities in the high Peruvian Andes could live healthier and more secure lives.
Martha Lino has lived in Tingabamba all her life. The village is perched 4,600m up in the high Andes - one of dozens of remote Quechuan communities scattered across the mountains in the Canchis province of Peru.
Like everyone else in her village, Martha is an alpaca farmer, living on what she earns from selling her animals' fleeces. The high altitude and cold climate encourage the alpacas' coats to grow thickly - improving the quality of their wool. Even so, Martha and her children survive on barely more than £3 a week.
Communities like Martha's are some of the poorest and most vulnerable in the world. Some experts believe that there should be a category lower than 'extreme poverty' to define the brutally hard conditions endured by Peru's highland alpaca herders.
Today, these conditions are perhaps worse than they have ever been. In July, after the coldest weather in 50 years, Peru's government declared a national state of emergency. Freezing conditions across Peru have brought temperatures below -24c and communities like Tingabamba have been identified as those most at risk.
Please give today to help poor people change their lives.
- Donate online by credit or debit card via secure server
- To make a telephone donation please give our Supporter Services team a call on Freephone 0800 389 16 24
