Wichana Foundation

10/18/2026

Teamwork makes the dream work!

Thanks to our Clean Water Champion Reid Tillery for ordering 100 more Sawyer Water filters and 100 more buckets and thanks to Chuck Bussey for volunteering to drill 100 holes in these 100 buckets!

In the coming weeks, we will be helping 100 more rural families stay healthy by making sure they have clean drinking water!

If you know a rural community in Imbabura that has issues with clean drinking water and/or you want to help, let us know! 💧

¡El trabajo en equipo hace realidad los sueños!

¡Gracias a nuestro «Campeón del Agua Limpia», Reid Tillery, por encargar 100 filtros de agua Sawyer y 100 baldes más; y gracias a Chuck Bussey por ofrecerse como voluntario para perforar los 100 baldes!

¡En las próximas semanas, ayudaremos a otras 100 familias rurales a mantenerse saludables, asegurándonos de que cuenten con agua potable!

Si conoces alguna comunidad rural en Imbabura que tenga dificultades para acceder a agua potable, o si deseas colaborar, ¡cuéntanos! 💧

10/16/2026

☺️Te invitamos a ser parte de un espacio profundo de reflexión y encuentro. En esta ocasión, nos adentraremos en una de las ceremonias y comprensiones más significativas de nuestra identidad:

🕯️ Tema: AYA MARKAY — La muerte desde la cosmovisión de los pueblos indígenas.

🗓️ Fecha: Jueves, 29 de octubre de 2026.
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🕒 Hora: 15h00.
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📍 Lugar: Cotacachi, Andean Gardens Cultural Center (Calle Alejandro Proaño).

💵 Aporte: $10,00.

Un espacio ideal para dialogar, sentir y comprender la transición de la vida desde la sabiduría de los pueblos originarios de la mano Centro Cultural Kichwa MUYUMI KANKI

📞 Inscripciones y reservas: 099 839 5145 / 096 163 2613.

¡Te esperamos para compartir este camino de saberes! ✨

10/15/2026

🎨 En Santa Bárbara, el arte también es una forma de sembrar identidad !

Durante varias semanas, niñas y niños de la comunidad exploraron colores, texturas, tintes naturales y distintas técnicas de pintura, transformando sus vivencias, su territorio y su cosmovivencia en creaciones propias, guiados por Nary Manai , artista kichwa y comunera de Santa Bárbara.

En Wichana, nos enorgullece apoyar iniciativas lideradas por artistas locales y cabildos comprometidos, que hacen posible que las nuevas generaciones crezcan creando, explorando y reconociendo a su comunidad como un espacio seguro. 🌱🎨

10/15/2026

Each year on November 2nd, you can see Kichwa community members visiting the cemetery, bringing food to share with the ancestors. You also see the guaguas de pan, the special bread that is baked for this occasion.

This is a very special time of the Andean calendar, and if you are in the Cotacachi area, we invite you to learn more about the Kichwa rituals and beliefs regarding death. Join our COSMOVISION SERIES, a space created for gathering, learning, and deeply connecting with Kichwa wisdom and knowledge. In addition to the learning that will take place during the workshop, attendees will be invited to a guided visit to the Cotacachi cemetery on November 2nd.

🗓 When? Thursday, October 29, 2026
🕙 What time? 3:00 P.M.
📍 Where? Cotacachi, Andean Gardens Cultural Center (Calle Alejandro Proaño).
🎟 Contribution: $10.00
📲 Registration and reservations: 099 839 5145 / 096 163 2613 or reply to this email.

🌺 YACHAKUY PACHAKUNA - Learning that weaves identity, community, and territory
Our cross‑cultural workshops, led by the Kichwa Cultural Center “Muyumi Kanki”, are essential for helping Kichwa culture flourish. They are designed to share the ancestral knowledge of the Kichwa communities of Cotacachi with people from diverse backgrounds, fostering understanding, respect, and connection.

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

10/10/2026

We’re asking for your support to bring our team back to the small, isolated Kichwa community of Piñán, Ecuador. Piñán is home to about 40 families who live in adobe and wood homes with grass roofs, high in the Andes at 3,112 meters (10,209 feet). The village has no medical facility, and the nearest hospital is many hours away over difficult terrain. Most residents make their living raising livestock or working for the large hacienda that owns the surrounding land.

The residents are concerned about the loss of their Kichwa cultural traditions as elders pass away. They specifically asked Wichana to help revive their Inti Raymi celebrations—their ancestral solstice festival that has not been fully practiced in years.

Thanks to your support, the revitalization of the traditional Inti Raymi/San Juan festivities in the Kichwa community of Piñan is well underway! Traditional festivities, particularly Inti Raymi/San Juan play a fundamental role as spaces for social cohesion, cultural expression, and the continuity of community memory.

In July 2025 and May 2026, our cultural preservation team traveled to Piñan to launch this process. Our team will be returning for another visit in November.

Over the next year, the revitalization will progress through five key areas. First, we will bring the festivities back to life by restoring traditional knowledge, rituals, music, and clothing, with wide community participation. Second, we will foster intergenerational learning by creating spaces for elders, women’s groups, and youth to share and grow together. Third, we will help the local school become a cultural center, blending traditions and language into its teaching. Fourth, we will document and preserve community memories through an archive of stories, recordings, and educational materials. Finally, we will strengthen the Kichwa language by encouraging community learning and making Kichwa spoken and seen again in everyday life.

These efforts will culminate in June 2027 with a renewed celebration of Inti Raymi/San Juan—an event shaped by the voices, hands, and leadership of Piñan with the assistance of Kichwa Cultural Center Muyumi Kanki and Wichana.

This initiative is about more than revitalizing a celebration; it is a pathway toward strengthening identity, self-empowerment, rebuilding intergenerational bonds, and creating a better future for the community. As always, we rely on your financial support to supplement the hard work of our volunteer teams. Please donate here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=WJWEYF4C8WRTS

https://youtu.be/AbYcpWIz_l8?si=pt6UX-CgceTVwXpI

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

10/09/2026

🎬🔥 ¡EL CINE COMUNITARIO LLEGA A COTACACHI! 🔥🎬

Desde el Cine Kichwa en Resistencia, te invitamos al screening comunitario de la película “Shunkuwan: Corazón de la Tierra”, una producción de RUPAI Producciones, dirigida por Alberto Muenala.

🎥 Una historia que nos invita a reflexionar sobre la identidad, la memoria, la cultura y la resistencia de nuestros pueblos.

📅 Fecha: Domingo 11 de octubre 🕓 Hora: 4:00 p. m. 📍 Lugar: Teatro Municipal de Cotacachi 🎟️ Entrada libre

✨ ¡Ven con tu familia y amistades a compartir este espacio de cine, cultura y encuentro comunitario!

🌿 ¡Que nuestras historias sigan vivas y nuestras voces sigan resistiendo!

10/04/2026

🌐✨ The internet is a gateway to a world of knowledge. For students, internet access means a library that never shuts, digital literacy skills that prepare them for the future, and interactive learning that makes school exciting. For teachers, it opens up vital educational resources, lesson planning tools, and improved communication.

We recently completed an extensive renovation project to completely overhaul the student bathrooms at a local primary school in the rural Imbabura province, ensuring a clean, safe, and hygienic space for 700 deserving students. 🚽💧

But when we were beginning that project, we noticed another critical gap: the school had no internet service. We knew we couldn't walk away without fixing that, too. So, we expanded our initiative! Over the last two weeks, our team:

-Purchased and installed all the necessary infrastructure and equipment to bring high-speed WiFi to the entire campus.

-Fully funded one year of internet service.

A huge thank you to our supporters, volunteers, and the school community for helping us turn this vision into a reality. Together, we are building brighter futures! 📚💻❤️

🌐✨ El internet es la puerta de entrada a un mundo de conocimiento. Para los estudiantes, el acceso a internet significa una biblioteca que nunca cierra, habilidades de alfabetización digital que los preparan para el futuro y un aprendizaje interactivo que hace que la escuela sea emocionante. Para los maestros, abre recursos educativos vitales, herramientas de planificación de lecciones y una comunicación fluida.

Recientemente completamos un proyecto de renovación integral para cambiar por completo los baños de los estudiantes en una escuela primaria local en la provincia rural de Imbabura, garantizando un espacio limpio, seguro e higiénico para 700 estudiantes que se lo merecen. 🚽💧

Pero cuando estábamos comenzando ese proyecto, notamos otra deficiencia crítica: la escuela no tenía servicio de internet.
Sabíamos que no podíamos irnos sin solucionar eso también. ¡Así que ampliamos nuestra iniciativa! Durante las últimas dos semanas, nuestro dedicado equipo:

-Compró e instaló toda la infraestructura y el equipo necesarios para llevar WiFi de alta velocidad a todo el campus.

-Financió en su totalidad un año de servicio de internet.

Un enorme agradecimiento a nuestros colaboradores, voluntarios y a la comunidad escolar por ayudarnos a convertir esta visión en realidad. ¡Juntos estamos construyendo futuros más brillantes! 📚💻❤️

10/03/2026

Each year on November 2nd, you can see Kichwa community members visiting the cemetery, bringing food to share with the ancestors. You also see the guaguas de pan, the special bread that is baked for this occasion.

This is a very special time of the Andean calendar, and if you are in the Cotacachi area, we invite you to learn more about the Kichwa rituals and beliefs regarding death. Join our COSMOVISION SERIES, a space created for gathering, learning, and deeply connecting with Kichwa wisdom and knowledge. In addition to the learning that will take place during the workshop, attendees will be invited to a guided visit to the Cotacachi cemetery on November 2nd.

🗓 When? Thursday, October 29, 2026
🕙 What time? 3:00 P.M.
📍 Where? Cotacachi, Andean Gardens Cultural Center (Calle Alejandro Proaño).
🎟 Contribution: $10.00

📲 Registration and reservations: 099 839 5145 / 096 163 2613 or reply to this email.

We look forward to weaving community and memory together! 🦅🌽

🌺 YACHAKUY PACHAKUNA - Learning that weaves identity, community, and territory

Our cross‑cultural workshops, led by the Kichwa Cultural Center “Muyumi Kanki”, are essential for helping Kichwa culture flourish. They are designed to share the ancestral knowledge of the Kichwa communities of Cotacachi with people from diverse backgrounds, fostering understanding, respect, and connection.

10/02/2026

💧 More families with access to clean water

Yesterday, we carried out another distribution of water purification filters in coordination with the Cambugán Water Board and UNORCAC.

Approximately 80 families lacking access to potable water benefited from this initiative. Through this effort, we aim to help more families improve the quality of the water they consume and enhance their well-being. 💧
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With your support, we continue to join forces to drive concrete, sustainable solutions for rural Imbabura communities.