Documenting Inka knowledge with Q'ero elders in Peru

My name is Wanka Inti, Guardian of Quechua Wisdom and council Elder. I am a spiritual authority, land steward, and cultural bridge for younger generations. I have spent years walking with Q'ero elders in the Peruvian Andes, watching how much of what they know has nowhere to go.

The Q'ero are recognized as direct carriers of Inka wisdom. But young people are leaving for cities, outside religions are reshaping community life, and the elders who hold this knowledge are aging. What they carry isn't written down anywhere—thousands of years of living knowledge about how to steward land, manage water, heal, and maintain the ceremonial cycles that hold communities together. As ecosystems collapse globally, this knowledge matters more than ever.

The plan is straightforward: document it before it disappears. I will work alongside the family of ritual grandmother Olga Mori whose children carry deep knowledge of rainforest plants and ancestral practice—recording oral histories, ceremonial traditions, and ecological knowledge through video and audio. Everything goes into a digital archive that the community controls, with access decided by Q'ero leaders.

In the first six months we'll build relationships, gather equipment, and begin field documentation. By month ten the archive will be live and Q'ero youth will be actively participating in the work. By year's end, elders will have a real, functioning pathway to pass their teachings to the next generation.

This work is led by the communities themselves, through our community network. This knowledge belongs to these communities. I want to help make sure it survives.