I am Fredy
Allianchu, my name is Fredy.
I come from the Q’ero community in Peruvian Andes. We speak Quechua, an Indigenous language, and are recognised as the direct descendants of the Incas.
The Andes and Mother Earth
I live in Qochamoqo, a village 4,400 m high in the Andes. We are very isolated from other communities, relying on our own crops to survive year round.
We grow corn, potatoes and bamboo. But our biggest treasure is the alpaca from which we get wool to keep us warm with our hand-woven clothes and fabrics.
We worship the high mountain peaks all around us, the Ausangate. We believe they protect us and we give them offerings chanting and playing flute during our ceremonies.
The land we live on provides not only food but also medicinal plants. We don’t need pills to heal us. We are self-sufficient and independent. We used to live completely without money and we still believe there should always be equal exchange, a sacred reciprocity we call ayni.
Education is something I feel very passionate about.
I’ve been a driving force for education in my village. I was doing a computer course in Cusco when my mother got ill and I had to give it up and come back. Being the oldest of three children I felt responsible for my siblings, and that was the catalyst for me to stay and help my community.
I felt it was important for them to go to school close to home. Very few girls were getting an education because the closest school was a long way away. I helped build a small school and I taught there myself – reading and writing and about Q’ero traditions.
Sharing Wisdom
When I was young I used to spend a lot of time with the elders and they would share their wisdom with me.
They told me their stories from the past and taught me to never be afraid to speak out.
When I first got to Cusco, people made fun of me because I didn’t speak any Spanish. I suffered because of it and I decided I wanted to be the last person who ever experienced being bullied for that.
So I learned to speak Spanish and I spoke up.
I wanted to become president of my people, the Q'ero Nation.
We have five communities and there are around 2,000 of us. As president I travel to the other Q’ero communities and to Cusco to meet with government officials.
Before becoming president, my vision was to spread the culture of the Q’ero people, but a lot of my work just focuses on helping people in a practical way.
During my two years as president I want to create government sponsored jobs and do more to preserve our ecological sites.
I want to protect my land.
The mining industry is very powerful in this area and many of my fellow Q’eros are attracted to working in the mines – it’s quick money. But mining is polluting our fertile land, and I want to protect it.
We believe that all things are alive and have a spirit. Respetar la Madre Tierra, respect Mother Earth. We have a name for our connection with her: la Pachamama. It is all we have, our only way of survival.
I want to protect it like it protects us.
