Working together for the Andean Condor in Peru
Mountain Lodges and Frankfurt Zoological Society are working together near Salcantay to monitor the population of Andean Condors in the area and work towards promoting the conservation of the species in the region.
Waseem Nawaz, October 2013
Mountain Lodges and Frankfurt Zoological Society are working together near Salcantay to monitor the population of Andean Condors in the area and work towards promoting the conservation of the species in the region.
The Andean Condor has declined rapidly across much of its range during the last century primarily as a result of persecution and declines in food availability. In southern Peru these threats are exacerbated by the species use in Yawar Fiestas, the blood festival where a condor is captured and tied to the back of a bull. Whilst the aim is not to kill the condor, a number do die and others are injured and the capture of breeding birds results in failed breeding.
Mountain Lodges of Peru has created the Ñañunhuayco private conservation area near their Lodge at Soraypampa. This has been chosen as the first permanent Condor monitoring site in southern Peru. Frankfurt Zoological Society biologists will count condors here every 4 months from a specially built blind constructed by Mountain Lodges of Peru who also provide food and accommodation for the survey team. The first survey undertaken in July 2013 revealed the presence of 6 individual condors in the area.
This is the start of a collaboration that will include regular surveys, education programs about the species in local communities and hopefully the tagging of a Condor in the area with a transmitter to look at its range and movements.
Dr Rob Williams, FZS Peru director said “ this is an important step forward in Andean Condor conservation, it is great to see a responsible company take the initiative to support direct research and conservation activities for this threatened species”.
Frankfurt Zoological Society is leading research and conservation of the species in Southern Peru, working with communities, local, regional and national government and now also private enterprise to try and halt the decline of this iconic species.
Working together for the Andean Condor in Peru 2013
Women’s knitting group in Mollepata: new developments.
In June, Yanapana hired Spanish designer Patricia Martinez to help a local women’s knitting group improve their designs and color combinations.
In the photo, we see our model, Christina Aicardi, who also happens to be an MLP employee having a chat with Sra. Eriberta, a member of the women’s knitting group in Mollepata.
Waseem Nawaz, October 2013
In June, Yanapana hired Spanish designer Patricia Martinez to help a local women’s knitting group improve their designs and color combinations. At the moment, this group’s little shop is visited every other day by MLP tourists who are free to appreciate and buy their products. At the same time, MLP customers come into direct contact with people that live along the Salkantay trail. Most women in the area knit or weave or do both. Using a skill you have is a wonderful way of earning an income. These women are extremely resourceful: they knit, operate ice cream parlors, own horses and restaurants or little corner shops, amongst other things. They will go to great lengths to provide their families with a comfortable living. They are hardworking people and thus their lives are hard. Yanapana does what it can to help alleviate some of the hardships, thus the idea to improve textile designs and thereby increase sales.
As we mention in the photo above, Doña Eriberta has a little shop where she sells all sorts of things needed by both tourists embarking on the trek towards Machu Picchu and local customers needing articles for every life, such as brooms for dusting the floors.
The following photo shows the designer, Patricia, who used to be a model years ago, helping out Christina during the photo session.
This is a work in progress. Yanapana and MLP fully support local crafts and their makers. We will keep introducing other members of this interesting group of women, some of whom knit because, well, they simply love this craft and their hobby provides them with a little extra income.
Yanapana Peru 2013