This is the story of Wither Avellaneda and his work, leading ecotreks and bringing aid to the indigenous farming and weaving communities of the Peruvian Andes near Machu Picchu.

Wither Avellaneda is a 24 year old married man with a four year old son. His ancestors were Inca people who have lived for generations in The Sacred Valley near Machu Picchu.

Wither grew up on the streets of his village Ollantaytambo, always hungry, singing at the Inca ruins to earn some money. He is gentle, spiritual, and kind.

He has seen charities bring aid to his valley and this has brought good and bad changes he says. The bad is that people are abandoning (losing respect for) their ancient culture, their customs and traditional ways of living.

In a beautiful Huilloc valley, high in the mountains above Ollantaytambo, where no Spanish is spoken, only Quechua or Aymara, 50 isolated families are living in conditions almost identical to their great great grandparents. They have to walk many many hours to Ollantaytambo for basic important supplies like matches, salt, sugar, oil, flour, and rice, things they can't make or grow themselves. Some live three days ride from the nearest town. They grow potatoes, and green beans, and all have a few cows, sheep, pigs, llamas, horses, chickens, and guinea pigs.

Winter is very hard above the tree line where they live. The children's permanent rosy cheeks are not a sign of health but the result of frostbite. It has been Wither's dream to make their lives a little easier by bringing basic supplies at the beginning of winter before they get snowed in. Winter starts in June. He needs funding to do this. Wither hopes passionately that his people will continue to be proud of their culture and not want to exchange it for the things of the city. If their lives are a little easier, he feels, it may be possible for them to continue living and preserving Peru's rich indigenous culture. Wither speaks Quechua fluently.

In April 2009 Wither took me to visit Florentino and Andrea who have lived in the high mountains all their lives. I was visiting Peru for the first time, having come to meet the people who run a children's soup kitchen in Ollantaytambo. I had organised a successful fund raiser for www.pathoftheheart.org, and was thrilled to be able to experience Peru first hand.

I met Wither though his wife who was on duty in the plaza as an auxiliary traffic police woman. She was on duty with their four year old son in tow! We made friends and arranged that Wither, a mountain guide, would take me on a days trek to meet a local family in the Sacred Valley. I had a truly magical day.

Wither was a wonderful guide. He was sensitive and intelligent, extremely knowledgeable about his Inca ancestors, and he knew all the medicinal properties of every flower and plant we stopped to admire. I had a great sense of achievement at the end of the hike as I had completely surpassed what I thought I could achieve physically, and speaking Spanish with him was easy because he was so patient and intuitive.

A few weeks later, Wither took me on another trek to meet the high mountain people. It was an unforgettable experince. When we arrived, forty year old Andrea told me in Quechua (Wither translated) that her last daughter was born in Ollantaytambo hospital, but her other four children were born at home. The family, and all the families in this remote part of Peru, live almost exactly as their ancestors lived literally hundreds and hundreds of years ago. Andrea's two older daughters were tending the animals on the mountain when we arrived, and she was sitting on the ground, weaving.

The family of 8 sleep together on a stone ledge in their stone dwelling, their bedding is a pile of sheepskins. About 30 guinea pigs live underneath the 'bed'- ledge. The home consists of one small room without windows, no bathroom or running water, no electricity of course. The fourteen year old son speaks some Spanish which he has learnt at school. School is a two hours walk away down the valley.

Andrea cooked us a meal of potatoes and little strips of meat on the fire which is fuelled by animal droppings. There's no wood this high up in the mountains. There were various unidentifiable carcasses hanging from the roof, and the meat Andrea cooked was the most delicious I have ever tasted in my life. As we ate, the guinea pigs emerged en masse from under the 'bed', hoping for some left overs !!

I am now (happily) committed for the rest of my life it seems, to help Wither help his people. He will receive 10% of whatever I can raise to send him, as a salary. He is not doing this for the money but because it's his dream. I believe him.

His other dream is to develop his eco trekking adventure holidays. Authenticity, simplicity, and integrity sum up this venture. What a privilege to help somebody realise their dream in their life time.

I will raise money by selling my paintings and by giving a large percentage of what I earn from the retreats I offer. If you would like to be involved in fund raising events, small or large, or create you own fund raising events for Wither - we're calling the project "High Mountain Aid Peru" - highmoutainaidperu.com - then please let me know. Your help will be greatly appreciated. The first delivery has just been dispatched in late May and early June 2009, and you can see some of Wither's images on the Journal page.