What We Support

We want to express our deep gratitude for your support of our mission to help preserve traditions and benefit the well-being of Indigenous communities with whom we engage. Kenosis Spirit Keepers is a small, volunteer-run, grassroots organization for the benefit of the global community.  Ayni is Quechua for sacred reciprocity. Thank you for yours.

To view current and past Annual Reports, go here.

Current Support Projects

Spirit Keepers Journeys

Kenosis Spirit Keepers provides Indigenous “bridge builders” in the Americas, who have mutual interests, parallel traditions or overlapping geographic roots, ways to connect with each other on an intimate, small group level. Through shared ceremonies, experiencing sacred sites and interchanges it is our intent that Indigenous traditions are strengthened and sustained.

During the Summer 2008 journey, Hopi Wisdom Keeper Harold Joseph spoke to Q’ero spiritual leaders who were traveling with us, “You are my brothers and sisters! When I am at home and pray for rain for my corn, I pray for your corn…”

See a Video from this Journey:

Spirit Keeper Journeys are open to any other interested travelers who wish to support Indigenous wisdom. Current offerings are listed on our Events page. A portion of the program tuition is tax-deductible and goes to support Kenosis Spirit Keepers programs shown on this page.

Spirit Keepers Sponsorships

We provide designated sponsorships for Indigenous leaders and young adults to take part in cross-cultural exchange programs in Peru, Bolivia, Mexico, Guatemala and Hopiland. Our work is centered on the Q’ero, Quechua, Aymara, Maya, Hopi and other Native North American peoples because of migration paths or other common threads. Sponsorships are funded through the spiritual travel programs shown below and private donations.

The Heart of the Andes. Since 2007 we have provided sponsorships for Hopi and other Indigenous leaders to participate in spiritual travel programs in Peru. Periodically, Bolivia is included as a paired pilgrimage. The purpose is to bring these leaders together with their relations to share traditions and experience sacred sites.

In addition, we have supported ceremonial circles with Q’ero spiritual leaders to share their sacred ways. On specified programs, we sponsor travel for small groups of Q’ero paq’os (shamans), community leaders and young adults so they may experience sacred sites distant from their home villages, those of their Inka origin.

To view any current designated sponsorships, see the Heart of the Andes program page.

Entering the Maya Mysteries. Since 2008 we have sponsored Hopi leaders from villages on Second and Third Mesas, and periodically other Indigenous wisdom Keepers, so they may weave connections with the Maya peoples of Mexico and Guatemala through ceremony and travel to sacred sites.

Download The Last Spirit Keeper by Carla Woody, a featured article in Sacred Fire Magazine in Fall 2012, which shows how creating a space for healing has far-reaching and powerful effect in this progressive story of connection between the Hopi and Lacandón Maya.

To view any current designated sponsorships, see Entering the Maya Mysteries program page.

Sacred Guardians of the World. In 2016 we began sponsoring Indigenous wisdom keepers from other traditions to participate in the spiritual travel program to Hopi, which we co-sponsor. Our first sponsored guest was K’iche’ Maya Daykeeper and spiritual guide was Tat Apab’yan Tew. Read about his experiences here.

To view any current designated sponsorships, see Sacred Guardians of the World program page.

See photos of sponsored guests from past journeys.

Community-Building Projects

Keeping Traditions in Hatun Q’ero

The Hatun Q’eros of the Q’ero Nation are known as the Keepers of the Ancient Knowledge and call themselves the children of Inkari, the first Inka. They are widely accepted by anthropologists to be direct descendants of the Inka. They live in isolation at 14,000-15,000 feet in the Andes, as they have for hundreds of years after the conquistadors came, preserving their ancient mystical traditions.

The lands of the Q’eros have been declared a cultural heritage site by UNESCO, but that has not brought personal riches to the Q’ero Nation. About 2000 Hatun Q’eros live spread through small villages on the mountains commonly known as Q’ero, often enduring extreme weather conditions. They exist as subsistence farmers—their fields some distance below—living in stone huts with dirt floors, no electricity or running water. Their main diet is potatoes. All families have alpaca and sheep herds and live engaged with the natural world, which they consider sacred. Some Q’ero have migrated to Cusco hoping for a better life, dividing their time between their villages and the city.

Designated funding efforts are named on a year-by-year basis to support such activities that are undertaken by the Hatun Q’ero community in an effort to protect their ancient Inka culture and increase wellbeing. Support may be in such areas as weaving, agricultural, healing and spiritual traditions to continue stewardship of their past, present and future.

There are currently two projects:

Alpaca Shelters

Prior to the undertaking of this project in 2017 there was no protection for alpaca or sheep herds in the Hatun Q’ero village of Ccochamocco. Over the last few years the village has experienced increasing climate change issues with extreme, unexpected snowfall. At such times some alpaca and sheep succumbed, particularly pregnant mothers and young offspring. The Q’ero depend on their herds for survival.

We have instituted a program for family groups to build shared shelters. We provide materials not available from the land while those Q’eros who participate provide labor to build the shelters. Since 2017, two family groups have built shelters and another has recently applied. This program is ongoing to support those family groups who want to safeguard their herds through shelters. Progress is documented here or through the newsletter with photos and updates.

Support is funded through The Heart of the Andes spiritual travel program and private donations. To donate to this community-building opportunity, go here.

Hatun Q’ero Weaving Project

Weaving is integral to Q’ero life. They make their clothing, ceremonial and other functional items. The traditional symbols, design and technique have been passed down from mother to daughter, and from father to son, since the time of the Inka.

The Association of Weavers Q’ero Inka Design (Asociación de Tejidores Inka Pallay Q’eros) cooperative is the first of its kind, to their knowledge, within Hatun Q’ero. The cooperative was formally established July 4, 2017 so that the weavers would learn from each other and outside resources in the ways of natural dyeing and best practices to produce high quality items and increase their availability to larger markets. This cooperative represents members from Hatun Q’ero villages of Ccochamocco, Chua Chua, Challma and Qolpacucho in the Peruvian Andes. They have little opportunity to sell their textiles except to the occasional visitor to the villages or on the streets of Cusco to tourists.

All members have family alpaca herds in their home villages within Hatun Q’eros and obtain alpaca wool from this source. Weavings are created completely by hand. The wool is cleaned, spun using a traditional hand spindle, and woven using a four-stake or backstrap loom. If color other than natural wool is used, it is naturally dyed.

Our support of the cooperative’s mission began in 2018. We funded natural dyeing workshops and, on their behalf, submitted applications for representation at the prestigious International Folk Art Market (IFAM) located in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The cooperative was accepted for the July 2019 market where they were represented by two of their members: Remigia Salas Chura and Santos Machacca Apaza. We funded all travel expenses for Remigia, booth fee and other costs related to participation. We applied for a grant from IFAM for Santos’ travel expenses, which was granted.

We continue to search for other opportunities in venues appropriate for the cooperative’s high-quality weavings and standards.

Support is funded through The Heart of the Andes spiritual travel program and private donations. To donate to this community-building opportunity, go here.

Preservation of Maya Textile Museum and Work of Don Sergio Castro

Don Sergio Castro works with impoverished Maya communities around San Cristóbal de las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico, in the areas of medical and school needs, where there is no help from the Mexican government. Most of his patients are unable to give money, but in return pay with their blessings, tamales, and other items that serve as reciprocity. Lack of consistent funding makes it quite difficult for Don Sergio to fulfill the growing needs of the communities to which he has been dedicated for more than forty years.

Years ago, patients started giving Don Sergio their traditional clothing. To support his medical and school-building work, he opened a small textile museum, which doubles as a clinic. From that source and the occasional donation he’s somehow able to keep going.

Travelers on the Maya spiritual travel programs, co-sponsored by Kenosis Spirit Keepers, visit the textile museum and have an audience with Don Sergio, supported through an entrance fee included in the program tuition. In 2013, we made an ongoing commitment to Don Sergio’s humanitarian work by raising funds to go toward the rental fees of the textile museum. That move helps preserve beautiful traditional clothing, clearly within our mission. But, in addition, funds formerly earmarked for rental space can now be directed to much needed medical supplies and other requirements

To read more and view a documentary about Don Sergio’s work, go here.

Support is funded through the Entering the Maya Mysteries spiritual travel program and private donations. To donate to this community-building opportunity, go here.

Xapiri Preserving Traditions in the Amazon

Xapiri Ground is a Peruvian nonprofit founded by Jack Wheeler dedicated to supporting Indigenous communities in the Amazon. They focus on the intersection of art, culture and economic opportunity to bolster the cultural integrity of Indigenous communities. Based in Cusco, Peru, they work with 6 ethnic groups spread across the Peruvian Amazon.

We have been helping support their work since 2020. To learn more about Xapiri Ground, how they work with the tribes, read in-depth reports and view videos, go here.

Storytelling Project. With full collaboration of the Matsigenka community of Shipetiari, Xapiri Ground is documenting oral history, stories and songs previously on the way to being lost. This undertaking unites their ancestral Indigenous wisdom with their present reality, supporting the roots of their cultural identity. To keep updated on the progress of the Storytelling Project, go here.

Support is funded through the Heart of the Andes spiritual travel program and private donations. To donate to this community-building opportunity, go here.

Educational Outreach

Spirit Keepers Series

Our Spirit Keepers Series provides a forum for Indigenous educators and spiritual leaders from around the world to share the teachings of their traditions to the general public. We offer this outreach program to educate on Native culture and values—and help all of us remember what we already know. These weekend sessions are held in Prescott or Phoenix, Arizona unless otherwise indicated in the announcements. Any scheduled offerings will be listed on our Events page.

These programs are offered free of charge on a donation basis with no one turned away for lack of funds. In order to continue this Series, we must be able to cover the presenter costs and space requirements. Donations are needed to ensure continuity. Donate here.

To view our past projects, go here.