Impact & Ethics | QOTZUÑI

Local Impact

The project aims to invest $100,000 in on-the-ground initiatives. Impact goals and stages were strategically designed by the Uru community leaders together with local organizations. We have completed 25% of the project and will continue through 2026. Key goals include sustainable economic development, food security, cultural resilience, local activism, and ecological restoration.

Completed Stages

Stage 1: School Supplies

Donated school supplies to the Uru Educational Cooperative in Puñaca Tinta María, as well as to children from the most economically vulnerable Uru families.

Stage 2: Family Businesses & Food Security

Provided immediate food assistance and addressed long-term economic independence by supporting family businesses: a salt production facility, natural medicine, and local artisans.

Stage 3: Artisan Organization Support & Food Security

Expanded the initiatives of Stage 2 into the remaining Uru communities of Vilañeque and Llapallapani, with a focus on artisanship and immediate food security.

Upcoming Stages

Stage 4: Community Grants

Establish grants to fund Uru community members to design and execute local projects relating to food security, ecological protection, language, art, or other proposed initiatives.

Stage 5: Food Security Infrastructure

Construction of greenhouses and raised agricultural beds. Due to soil contamination and lack of arable land, the Uru communities currently cannot meet their food needs with standard agriculture.

Stage 6: Remediation

Arborization of lakebed's surrounding wetlands for water retention and quality. To be carried out in collaboration with the Uru Uru Team.

Campaign Details

As part of our commitment to continued community support, we have launched a community-driven, multi-phase impact campaign to provide essential resources to the Uru Communities on the ground, including educational supplies, food staples, and stimulus funds for family-led businesses.

In early July 2025, Teo Blanco Mollo, our trusted on-the-ground partner and founder of Fundación Pueblos de Montaña, convened with Uru authorities and heads of households in all three communities to design a grassroots plan for distributing sustainable development stimulus funds for family-led businesses. Their consensus, formalized in a signed "Acta de Organización Comunal Productiva," prioritized immediate food security through shared staples and long-term economic resilience through support for family-run alternatives to mining.

Local Partner Organizations

Our work was conducted in partnership with established advocacy organizations that have long histories of supporting the Uru people:

Fundación de Pueblos de Montaña y Derechos Ambientales

A foundation dedicated to environmental rights and the protection of mountain communities, working closely with indigenous peoples affected by environmental changes.

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Centro de Ecología y Pueblos Andinos (CEPA)

Based in Oruro, Bolivia, CEPA has been instrumental in protecting the Uru people from discrimination and advocating for their rights in the face of environmental disasters.

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Global Partners

In addition to local impact, we believe it is crucial for films like Qotzuñi to be showcased in institutional, educaitonal, and community-based settings across the globe. That's why we've partnered international organizations to help promote the story and message worldwide.

Earth Alliance

Earth Alliance works at the intersection of climate and creativity to inspire action. They collaborate with diverse networks of people and organizations to accelerate solutions to the climate crisis.