About
Whole Earth Engineering, Inc.
Whole Earth Engineering, Inc. was founded on the concept of AYNI – meaning reciprocity in the Quechua language of the Q’ero. Ayni is a fundamental spiritual teaching of the Q’ero. The Q’ero have been sharing their wisdom for decades. Climate change is threatening their way of life, and threatening the decline of resources the Q’ero people need to maintain their traditional ways. This is an opportunity for the world to support the Q’ero in strengthening their community through educational and economic capacity development as well as infrastructure improvements, such as irrigation systems for the fields that feed their alpaca.
Part of being a person is about helping others
Why are we doing this?
There are over 8 billion people on our 1 Earth. Social, economic, and environmental challenges have highlighted the need to shift the perception of air, water, land, and energy as disposable resources to that of irreplaceable assets that are the foundation of life on Earth. We have NO OTHER options. The Q’ero are the last living descendants of the Great Inca Empire. An empire whose engineering and spiritual healing traditions are still marveled today. The knowledge and wisdom of the Q’ero may be the keys to the survival of humankind because of their relationship with nature – Pachamama. It behooves us to support the preservation of this living legacy.
Founder - Linda Tello, Ph.D., P.E.
Linda is a Latina engineer and first generation American with Indigenous ancestry of the Pijaos from the Andes of Colombia. After 15+ years in private and government interdisciplinary engineering arenas, Linda pursued her doctorate in Civil, Environmental, and Sustainable Engineering at Arizona State University (ASU). At ASU, her doctoral research: Theorizing the State of Health Practices and Climate in Construction via Fourfold Structuration, demonstrated it is possible to successfully integrate ancient (Indigenous/Earth-based) and modern (Western) perspectives – often thought to be at odds – for the development of more robust, sustainable, feasible, cost-effective, and holistic engineering solutions. Through her passion for – Indigenous Ways of Knowing – Linda recognized more holistic and sustainable – Modern Innovative Solutions – could be developed for our needs of clean water, clean air, clean energy, sustainable food, and affordable housing. This integrative approach for more creative engineering solutions inspired Whole Earth Engineering, Inc. During her “free” time Linda can be found exploring nature with her dog, Mr. Oliver, who reminds her and continually teaches her the importance of stopping to smell the flowers. Learn more on LinkedIn.
Donate
Your donations directly support projects presented to Whole Earth Engineering, Inc. by Indigenous community leaders. The projects are presented in order of priority. Whole Earth Engineering, Inc. works with collaborators and supporters to fund and manage the projects. Grounded in tradition, each project is directed, planned, and often built by the people of the community. Throughout the project process, Whole Earth Engineering, Inc. looks for ways to provide training as well as income opportunities for community members. Training prepares individuals for future employment opportunities as well as replaces income lost from not tending their fields or animals throughout the project build.