2025 Projects
Economic Development Community Project Proposals
Communities submit project proposals at the end of every year. You can now partially or fully fund a specific project with your donation. Please reach out to [email protected] if you would like to learn more about how to fund a community’s project.
Purchase of Alfalfa Seeds
Communities: Asociación Huito Balsapata – Choquehuanca
Budget: $2,739
Beneficiaries: 17
All of the beneficiaries work as farmers and ranchers. Less than half supplement their income by marketing products such as groceries or products derived from their own production. This project seeks to increase the families’ milk production through planting and cultivating alfalfa for the cattle’s consumption. By diversifying the cattle’s diet, milk production will increase by approximately 10%.
Ceramic Workshops
Community: Asociación de Cerámica Innovada de Pucará
Budget: $2,739
Beneficiaries: 8
With a long tradition in the elaboration of decorative ceramic pieces, the association maintains the elaboration of the traditional torito as well as plates, piggy banks, nativity scenes for Christmas, and a variety of products. The main objective of this initiative is to protect their product from the uncertainties of nature such as frost, wind and torrential rains in the months of September to March. This project will allow the artisans to reach sufficient production levels and will ensure the handcrafted products reach consumers more effectively.
Purchase of Display Cases
Communities: 25 de Diciembre – Choquehuanca
Budget: $2,739
Beneficiaries: 10
As an association of potters, the production of ceramics traditionally takes place in the homes of the potters themselves, and all members of the family participate in this task.
Through their pottery production they express the complexity of the Andean cosmovision, regarding agricultural life and natural resources. This project will provide transparent display cases in order to exhibit our products to the local and national markets and thus give an added value to their products. They anticipate their sales will increase by 40%.
Purchase of Alfalfa Seeds
Community: Asociación Pukarani – Nicasio
Budget: $2,739
Beneficiaries: 10
The members of the association are engaged in agricultural activities, raising cows that produce milk, some of which also grow products such as potatoes, quinoa, cañihua. The income of the families comes from the sale of milk and oat bales. By diversifying the cows’ diet with alfalfa, the beneficiaries of the project will increase their income by at least 5% with their earnings from the sale of milk.
Implementation of Cattle Holding Pens
Community: Qquepa
Budget: $2,191
Beneficiaries: 8
This association earns a living from the sale of cow’s milk.Through this project, they seek to improve the infrastructure related to their cattle, which will contribute to the development of a better production system and the overall economic situation of each family. By purchasing cattle pens, the cows will be in a non-stressful situation, which allows for livestock feeding and veterinary work with minimal management and effort. At the end of the project the groups hopes to increase their milk production by 27%.
Tourism Kitchen Improvements
Communities: Santa Rosa Amantaní
Budget: $2,191
Beneficiaries: 8
This community is located on beautiful Amantaní Island on Lake Titicaca and earns a living through hosting tourists. They seek to improve the quality of their kitchens in order to ensure the safety and satisfaction of their customers with the hope their guests will encourage others to visit. Their goal is to increase their economic income by 10% with the help of these home improvements.
Mini Stable Construction for Calves
Community: Asociación Virgen de Carmen – Nicasio
Budget: $3,287
Beneficiaries: 10
Livestock is the main means of livelihood for this community. They are seeking to increase production and improve productivity of milk and meat. By creating mini stables, the cattle will experience thermal comfort, thus increasing production and resulting in improved income for each family. They hope this infrastructure will allow each member to increase their average amount of milk by 350 liters per month.
Solar Water Baths
Communities: Copacabana – Choquehuanca
Budget: $2,191
Beneficiaries: 5
This community creates ceramic products to make a living. In order to improve working conditions and increase productivity, and therefore income, they will utilize their rotating funds to purchase solar panels that will allow them to work with warm water.
Potter's Wheel Purchase
Community: Chaska Pukara – Pucará
Budget: $2,739
Beneficiaries: 5
This association consists of families that dedicate their time to creating decorative and ornamental ceramics. They will use potter’s wheels to improve their product production. This community has benefited from roof coverings to improve their working conditions and increase their sales by 40%. This further improvement and change will allow the members to increase their production by 50 pieces per person per day.
Solar Heated Water - Tourism
Community: Lampayuni – Amantaní
Budget: $2,328
Beneficiaries: 5
This community, on Amantaní Island on Lake Titicaca, previously benefited from a water project. In order ton continue providing an improved experience for the tourists that visit their island, they plan to implement solar panels to heat their water for warm showers for their guests.
Water Projects
In 2025, The Chijnaya Foundation received six project proposals to support water projects in several different communities on the Island of Amantaní and in Pucara. These communities do not have consistent access to water within their homes.
We are partnering with Inkatiana and Colquecachi, to ensure 624 people have basic water services which is foundational to the health and well being of their communities. The total cost for both projects is $19,178.
There are several other communities that need access to water and if you feel compelled to help, contact us or donate.
The Scholarship Program
The scholarship program aims to end the poverty cycle in rural communities by improving access to higher education . This year, 52 students have been selected to receive scholarships. 36 students plan to attend universities and 16 plan to attend technical institutes.
You can donate directly to the scholarship program and even create a named scholarship to honor someone special or create opportunities for students who are pursuing a particular field of study. Read about current named scholarships and find more information about creating these opportunities here.
The Group Savings Program
Savings groups give communities a way to save their money, earn interest, and take out low-interest loans. In 2024, the 16 savings groups, consisting of a total of 236 participants, saved a total of $217,585 and used their savings to invest in small business, medical, and educational expenses with the goal of strengthening their financial self reliance.
Because of the growth that we have seen across our Savings Program, newly named the Waqaychasun Program (which means ‘together we’ll save’ in Quechua), we hired part-time help in 2024. In 2025 we will continue to bolster the support needed to grow this program.
The Group Savings Program will continue to assist interested communities in forming and facilitating savings groups in 2025. The program will also continue to provide communities with financial education to help them to grow their small businesses.
The Health Program
The Oral Health Program addresses communities’ needs for dental services and oral health education in the rural sector, with a specific focus on children. In 2025, the Oral Health Program will work with 5 primary schools to improve the oral health of students by providing fluoride treatments, oral evaluations, and training sessions on oral hygiene.
Bofedales Project
This is a multi-year project, designed in partnership with five alpaca herding communities, that aims to improve their economic situation through the production of hand-spun alpaca yarn. Currently, these communities sell unprocessed alpaca fur for about $6 a kilogram and hand spun yarn is worth 10 times this amount per kilogram. This projects takes into account the many different factors that must be addressed for communities to be able to increase their income including reducing herd mortality rates, improving breeding practices, strengthening the organizational and administrative capacities of the local organizations involved, improving yarn production, and restoring and protecting the high wetland areas that make alpaca herding possible.
Join us in making a difference!