Chavín de Huántar, Peru
A Pre-Columbian World Heritage Treasure
Tourism is carefully managed at the site of Chavín.
GHF is funding post-excavation conservation and a local conservation lab, with an emphasis on stone and ceramic artifacts. GHF hopes to expand our current conservation funding for the next four years for site conservation and restoration, enabling Peruvian conservation teams to become self-sufficient and capable of unsupervised conservation. Not only will this funding provide year round employment to locals but it will also open the doors for Chavín artifacts, that are distributed across Peru, to return to the newly opened sizeable local museum.
Local people are being trained and coordinated on renewed craft production in traditional materials, including ceramic, bone, and stone. This work will focus on rescuing traditional techniques and designs in the production of Chavin’s artisan work. The works of the local artisans of Chavin currently revolve around soft stone carving, with many of the local artisan’s products limited to that medium. Currently 90% of local handicraft sales are of products from other regions of the country, and therefore do not reflect the iconography and heritage of Chavin. Thus, it is necessary to give the artisans information, revive local skills, and train them in alternative artisan products that will reflect their ancestry (that of Chavin) by re-introducing the ancient techniques and the production of stone, ceramic, and textiles products, among others (shell, metal, bone, mineral, etc.).
In addition to the handicrafts, the culinary culture and the dress of the region can be more fully highlighted. Traditional regional dishes are only offered in Huaraz, again providing a local opportunity to present a truly unique local culture to visitors, and are important to extending visitation at Chavin. The development of local customs will have a strong articulation with the development of culturally-oriented lodging and restaurants, providing the substance of visitors’ articulation and knowledge of the region.
The project will assist Chavin artisans to offer authentic and unique products that reflect the Chavin zone. With an undisputable quality and beauty which will make it competitive not only on a national but at an international level as well, these aspects of artisan production (great technical work, skill, quality and beauty) should provide local artisans a connection with external markets and elevate their economic quality of life.
