By D.R. Richards
Mt. Pisco, warmup for Huascaran
We’ve posted images on our Facebook page from a Mt. Huascaran (21,812’/6767 m) expedition on which I was expedition co-leader. Click here to view the images, which range from climbing on route and images of the glaciated terrain and summits to some group shots.
Duke Student Plans for Film Making Project in Peru on Traditional Folklore Music
By D.R. Richards
Berkowitz applies for Fulbright
Avery Berkowitz will be sponsored by Mountain Spirit Institute should his application for a Fulbright Scholarship be accepted this spring. Berkowitz approached MSI in February to see if we were interested in providing contacts, support, and in-country affiliation for his film project, a documentary on traditional folklore music in Peru. The film will cover, not only the music, but the lives of the performers, as well as the impact the music has on audiences and the culture.
Guillermo Seminario, the muscial director of Chimu Inka, co-facilitator on MSI programs in the Cusco region, and key member on the Peru/USA Music Exchange in the U.S. will also provide support on the ground in Cusco. The exposure could also be good for Chimu Inka, who, although are superb musicians, deserve to have their music and story told more than is presently happening for them. Any film coverage of their story would be beneficial.
Berkowitz is a student at Duke, and if accepted for the Fulbright, plans to head to Peru either in the summer of 2010 or 2011. We look forward to doing what we can to support Avery and wish him the best with his application.
Specialists in Peru & Holistic Education Since 1998
Mountain Spirit Institute announces June 18th Holistic Learning Program in Peru
By R. Richards
Mountain Spirit first started leading programs to Peru in 1998. I guided high altitude mountains for Alpine Ascents International, such as Mt. Huascaran in Peru, Aconcagua in Argentina and other volcanoes in Ecuador prior to that for a number of years , but then decided holistic experiential education was more for me.
Hiking on Amantani Island, Lake Titicaca
Readers may have heard of the term “nature deficit disorder”, coined by Richard Louv in his book, Last Child in the Woods. MSI also addresses “cultural deficit disorder” by taking people to Peru. We were doing Peru before it was fashionable, and know the country well. We focus on education, service, hiking, music and mountains. We’ll be headed to the Sacred Valley, Machu Picchu, Cusco, and Lake Titicaca.
Our program is limited to 8 participants and will start on June 18th and last for 14 days. We will be staying with long time friends and educational partners. Our logistics is well organized after leading many trips to Peru.
MSI Peru'09 with Cari Family, Amantani
Description of Curriculum:
MSI’s Cultural immersion focuses on learning rather than touristing, giving back through service, hiking in the Andes, weaving, agriculture, community building, learning music, language and indigenous shamanism and socioeconomic issues. Some hotels and lodges, but also family stays and off-the-beaten track. Machu Picchu, Lake Titicaca, Cusco. Oh, and great time too.
Testimonials from two Peru’09 particpants:
Machu Picchu
Thank you for a wonderful time in Peru!! You offered us such a diverse opportunity to really connect with the people, customs and languages. Your continued kindness, constant patience and
positive attitude really helped. We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for a job well done, an unforgettable time..
G. B.
Peru 2009 Cultural Immersion
I liked meeting the real people of Peru. Randy’s example of energetic interaction with the people worked well and set a good tone for the program.
T. Y.
Peru 2009 Cultural Immersion
More Tesimonials
Stay tuned for more posts about more details, and what we’ll be doing on this year’s 2010 Cultural Immersion Program in Peru. We hope you’ll consider joining us for a learning of a lifetime. See our detailed itinerary. Learn more about who’s leading the program. Also see posts on Peru to the right.
by Stephen Messenger,
Porto Alegre, Brazil
Difficult to see from the ground,geoglyphs go unnoticed by locals
With the aid of satellite imagery from Google Earth, soon archeologists in Brazil will be finding more and more large geometric designs carved into the ground in the Amazon rainforest. The geoglyphs are believed to have been sculpted by ancient people from the Amazon region around 700 years ago, though their purpose is still unknown. So far, nearly 300 geoglyphs have been identified, but with advances in satellite imaging–and increased clearing of the jungle coverage–scientists are hoping to discover many more of these strange, geometric designs. Read the rest of this story
Photo via Diego Gurgel
by Bob Stremba, PhD
MSI Board Member
TV- Not all it's cracked up to be
A couple of weeks ago I stumbled onto the Simple Living Network and was reminded about what’s important in life. I don’t think it’s Thanksgiving day football games on a bazillion inch widescreen flatscreen high def LCD 1080p 120 megahertz TiVo Wifi iPod-enabled TV. What’s important, I’m convinced, is authentic connections to self, others and the environment, and that happens to be what Mountain Spirit Institute (MSI) is all about.
The Simple Living Network has its roots in a movement, which began in the 1970’s with publication of the book, Voluntary Simplicity, by Duane Elgin and Arnold Mitchell. Simple living, according to their website, is about living an examined life—one in which you have determined what is important, or “enough,” for you, discarding or minimizing the rest. Living in a way that is outwardly simple and inwardly rich. So I recently cleaned out some closets, donated more clothes to the local thrift shop, and got rid of more clutter. More stuff brings more stress.
Weaving in Willoc, Peru
It struck me that Mountain Spirit Institute is doing today what voluntary simplicity launched over 30 years ago. The values at the heart of a simpler way of life are…
1. Material simplicity: Owning and buying things that promote activity, self-reliance, and involvement, rather than items that induce passivity and dependence.
2. Human scale: A preference for human-sized living and working environments, rather than institutions and living environments that are anonymous, incomprehensible, and artificial.
3. Self-Determination: Less dependence upon large, complex institutions whether in the private sector (the economy) or public sector (the political processes); a desire to assume greater control over one’s personal destiny and not lead a life so tied to installment payments, maintenance costs and the expectations of others.
Field/Lake near Chinchero, Peru
4. Ecological Awareness: The interconnectedness and interdependence of people and resources. This awareness often seems to extend beyond a concern for purely physical resources to include other human beings as well. A preference for living where there is ready access to nature.
5. Personal Growth: For many persons taking up a materially simple way of life, the primary reason is to clear away external clutter so as to be freer to explore the “inner life.” (more…)
“Vacations with a Purpose” Cover Story writes about Mountain Spirit Institute’s work in NZ/Peru
“To Travel is to Explore, Dream, Discover”
"Vacations with a Purpose" Cover Story
An article recently appeared in New Hampshire’s Kearsarge Magazine about Mountain Spirit Institute by writer Deb McKew. It can be read on our Press Clips Webpage, as an excerpt from the magazine. Click on the first listing at the top of the page. We encourage you to purchase this good read of a magazine if you’re in the New Hampshire, USA area. Publisher Laura Jean Whitcomb does a great job with the magazine.
The article has a shot of MSI founder R. Richards doing a bit of ice climbing on a glacier in Mt. Aspiring National Park, and covered Mountain Spirit’s core mission of getting people connected “with themselves, each other and the environment”, where we “combine experiential wilderness programs with spiritual development”.
Richards near Mt. Aspiring, NZ
As the article states, “some programs are solely wilderness based while others are workshop based.”
The article informs readers of the educational programs and unique nature of MSI mission of getting people out of their native countries and into the mountains and cultures abroad. Being a non-profit organization, MSI strives to bring people of different backgrounds and countries together, to learn about new ways to work together, and to re-examine one’s role in the natural environment, and in the world community.
Guillermo Seminario, leader of Chimu Inka band in Cusco, and co- facilitator for Mountain Spirit Insitute’s cultural immersion program in Peru teaches a few participants on the Peru’09 program how to play zampoña. They three had been learning from Guillermo for a few days before this footage was taken. They did well. I hope they are still playing!
In a small hamlet, near the town of Ollantaytambo, a few hundred devotees hold festivals in honor of the Virgen del Carmen, known locally as Mamacha Carmen, patron saint of the mestizo population. The gathering, that raises the curtain on these days of celebrations is held in the main square, where troupes of musicians play their instruments while richly dressed choirs sing in Quechua. The setting gives way to a series of ingenious choreographies that portray events in Peruvian history. The main and much bigger celebration of Virgen Del Carmen is in the town of Paucartambo, about four hours from Cusco, Peru. Mountain Spirit Institute participants, guide Guillermo Seminario, and host Anna Sequeros are in this clip.
The Qorikancha was at the physical center of the Inca empire, their most revered ceremonial temple which also housed the golden sun disc and was considered where the four quarters of the empire came together. It is located on Avenida del Sol, in Cusco, Peru.
The image below is of beautiful painting by the Cusco artist Miguel Cartagena, which hangs in the Qorikancha, showing the important points of the Milky Way in the southern hemisphere and how the Inka related to them. Below is a description which is also hangs in the Qorikancha next to this painting:
Milky Way & llama - Southern Hemisphere
“The deities venerated in the Qorikancha were personified celestial bodies and meteorological phenomenon. In order to understand these beliefs, it is necessary to make reference to Inca astronomy, which is known to us through some brief mentions in colonial chronicles and through the folk astronomy of the Quechua communities of today. (more…)
DEC 4-6 Burlington VT
Mountain Spirit Institute will be attending Burlington Vermont’s International Festival on December 4th-6th. MSI will have a booth explaining the mission and programs of the organization. In particular, the Peruvian/USA Music Exchange with the Cusco band Chimu Inka, that was so popular in 2008 will be featured at the booth. Also our Peru and New Zealand programs will be presented, where visitors will have a chance to find out more about going on an MSI program in those countries or here in the U.S. MSI will also have Peruvian Fair Trade products and Chimu Inka CD’s and instruments for sale to help raise funds for their return, and to fund other MSI programs as well.
The Festival has been running for over fifteen years, and according to Amanda Richards, the organizers of the event are excited to have Mountain Spirit attend the festival. We look forward to being there as well!
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