Asociación ANDES

What Asociación ANDES does

Asociación ANDES (Asociación Naturaleza y Desarrollo Sostenible) is a Peruvian nonprofit association registered in Cusco, Peru (RUC 20278380069) that works on biodiversity conservation, indigenous rights, and sustainable development. Its core technology is the Biocultural Territory approach, an operational and conceptual framework based on the Andean principle of Sumaq Kawsay (Good Living) that integrates indigenous knowledge systems with conservation and development practice. The organization implements this framework across three operational biocultural territories in the Cusco region: the Potato Park in Pisac (9,280 hectares, 5 Quechua communities, 6,000+ inhabitants), the Chalakuy Maize Park in Lares, and the Spiritual Park of Vilcanota/Q'eros, all governed via the traditional Ayllu system.

Its product portfolio is non-commercial and educational: the Yachay Kuychi Pluriversity (intercultural education and research), a biocultural education toolkit (Farmer Field Schools, Ayllu and Sumaq Kawsay frameworks, traditional counting via the Yupana), internship and volunteering programs, courses, and an extensive publications archive. Underlying assets include hundreds of cultivated native potato varieties and related wild species — including a 2011 deposit of 1,500 varieties to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault — and a body of research produced jointly with CIP/CGIAR, IIED, FAO, Oxfam, and the University of Alberta.

The business model is grant- and donation-funded. Revenue comes from voluntary donations (via bank transfer, Yape, Plin, PayPal, and Culqi) and project grants from international funders including IDRC, the Agroecology Fund, CIP/CGIAR, IIED, FAO/International Treaty, FIMI, and University of Alberta. ANDES sells no commercial goods or services; instead it delivers impact through direct community implementation, educational programming, and policy advocacy at venues such as the UNFCCC COP process. Its primary 'customer' base is the Quechua indigenous communities it serves, with secondary constituencies including international researchers, policymakers, donors, and partner NGOs.

Name

Asociación ANDES

Legal name

ASOCIACIÓN NATURALEZA Y DESARROLLO SOSTENIBLE – ASOCIACIÓN ANDES

Website

https://andes.org.pe

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Asociación ANDES is a Peruvian nonprofit that implements Biocultural Territories in the Cusco Andes — including the 9,280-hectare Potato Park — to conserve native agrobiodiversity and indigenous rights through the Yachay Kuychi Pluriversity and donor-funded programs serving Quechua communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Biodiversity Conservation Services

NAICS

Nature Parks and Other Similar Institutions (712190), Other Noncitrus Fruit Farming (111339), Forest Nurseries and Gathering of Forest Products (113210)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems (BPAGAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Environmental Education, Capacity Building & Community Engagement (BPADALAO), Forest Berries & Wild Fruit Harvesting (AFAMAFAE)

Keywords

• Biodiversity conservation services
• Indigenous rights advocacy
• Biocultural territory management
• Intercultural education programs
• Agrobiodiversity conservation

Headquarters

HQ city

Huarán (Calca)

HQ country

Peru

HQ region

Latin America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Voluntary Donations: The organization receives voluntary donations from individuals and organizations supporting environmental, social, and sustainable development initiatives. Donations are non-refundable and support social and environmental projects.
2. Project Grants and Funding: ANDES receives funding from international organizations and development agencies for specific projects such as ARRAMAT, IPA-LAC, and FIMI initiatives.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Asociación ANDES is a Peruvian nonprofit organization that implements Biocultural Territories—integrated conservation and sustainable development areas based on the Andean principle of Sumaq Kawsay—to protect native potato varieties, related biodiversity, and indigenous Quechua communities' traditional knowledge. The organization operates the Potato Park, Chalakuy Maize Park, and Spiritual Park of Vilcanota, delivering intercultural education through the Yachay Kuychi Pluriversity, training programs, internships, and research publications in partnership with international organizations.

Product overview

Asociación ANDES offers a portfolio of non-commercial programs and educational resources focused on biocultural conservation and indigenous rights. The core offerings include the Yachay Kuychi Pluriversity for intercultural education and research, a Toolkit of biocultural education methods and field school manuals, internship/volunteering programs for hands-on community engagement, professional training courses, and an extensive publications archive. These programs support indigenous communities in implementing Biocultural Territories, preserving agricultural biodiversity, and adapting to climate change.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Yachay Kuychi Pluriversity: An international institution of intercultural education and research, and a center of excellence in indigenous food systems and biocultural landscapes.
• Potato Park
• Chalakuy Maize Park
• Spiritual Park of Vilcanota

Products and services

• Yachay Kuychi Pluriversity An international institution of intercultural education and research offering programs including participatory action-research on food neighborhoods, biocultural heritage, climate change, traditional agricultural systems, neglected crops, and nutrition. Targets indigenous peoples, academics, researchers, and policymakers.
• Toolkit - Biocultural Education Methods and Tools A collection of dynamic resources for instructors including manuals and guides for Farmer Field Schools covering agroecology, integrated pest management, nutrition, participatory plant breeding, and seed enterprises, as well as methods for biocultural education including Ayllu, Biocultural Heritage Territories, agricultural calendars, Inca agriculture, Sumaq Kawsay framework, and Yupana (traditional counting system).
• Internship and Volunteering Program Practical internship programs for university students to explore biodiversity conservation, potato diversity, indigenous-led climate change adaptation, and knowledge preservation, as well as volunteer opportunities for meaningful engagement with indigenous communities.
• Courses and Training Programs Innovative and adaptable programs for indigenous peoples, academics, researchers, and policymakers including participatory action-research programs, farmer field schools, learning contact zones, internship and volunteering programs, and policy development platforms.
• Publications and Research Extensive collection of research publications, case studies, and reports on biocultural heritage, indigenous food systems, climate change adaptation, potato conservation, and sustainable development in the Andes.

Quantifiable outcome

• Protection of 9,280 hectares of biocultural territory and 6,000+ inhabitants
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• INMIP (International Network of Mountain Indigenous Peoples)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 May 2024International network coordinating horizontal learning exchanges among mountain indigenous communities. ANDES hosted the Peru exchange from May 30 to June 4, 2024, bringing together communities to share experiences on biocultural heritage.
• International Potato Center (CIP/CGIAR)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing collaboration on potato conservation and research, including the repatriation of native potato varieties. The Potato Park-International Potato Center-ANDES Agreement facilitates climate change social learning and participatory research on potato varieties resistant to climate change effects.
• FAO Peru / International Treaty on Plant Genetic ResourcescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on celebrating International Potato Day at the Potato Park and advocacy for plant genetic resources conservation. The International Treaty delegation visits the Potato Park for knowledge exchange.
• University of Alberta (Canada)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLead institution for the ARRAMAT Project, which connects Indigenous communities in their advocacy and rights-based struggles through collaborative research and co-creation of knowledge.
• Colegio Frontera Sur – ECOSUR (Mexico)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch group facilitating the learning community and carrying out scientific coordination of IPA-LAC's participatory research activities.
• FIMI (Foro Internacional de Mujeres Indígenas)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational Forum of Indigenous Women partnership focusing on biocultural heritage and food sovereignty in the face of climate change, with activities strengthening the adaptive capacity of indigenous women.
• IIED (International Institute for Environment and Development)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing collaboration on biocultural heritage research, publications, and policy advocacy. Joint publications include works on protecting traditional knowledge and community rights.
• OxfammajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on publications related to food sovereignty, farmers' rights, and traditional knowledge, including contributions to UNFCCC COP processes.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• GRAIN: GRAIN is an international nonprofit supporting small farmers and social movements in their work on agricultural biodiversity, land, and seeds — directly overlapping ANDES' work on native potato conservation, indigenous seed systems, and biocultural heritage defense.
• International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED): IIED is a long-standing core strategic partner of ANDES, co-publishing on biocultural heritage and indigenous rights. As a research-driven international organization working on similar themes (traditional knowledge, food sovereignty, climate adaptation), IIED is a natural peer for benchmarking governance, funding mix, and policy influence.
• Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity: Slow Food Foundation operates Presidia projects that protect traditional food products and indigenous foodways worldwide. ANDES' Potato Park and Chalakuy Maize Park are functionally analogous — geographically defined communities stewarding traditional crops — making Slow Food a direct thematic peer.

Emerging players

• Native Seeds/SEARCH: Native Seeds/SEARCH is a regional nonprofit conserving native crop varieties and traditional agricultural knowledge of the US Southwest. It shares ANDES' seed-bank-plus-community-governance model and target activities (seed repatriation, farmer training) but at a smaller geographic scale.
• EL CONGRESO INTERNACIONAL DE BIOCULTURALIDAD (BIOCULTURA Network): An emerging Latin American network convening indigenous communities, researchers, and NGOs around biocultural heritage. It mirrors ANDES' conceptual framework and serves as a peer on network-building, knowledge dissemination, and policy advocacy in the same thematic space.

Broad incumbents

• IDRC (International Development Research Centre): IDRC funds ANDES' IPA-LAC initiative and operates at the intersection of development research and indigenous-led agroecology. As a major funder peer, IDRC represents the institutional type ANDES depends on for long-horizon project financing and policy uptake.
• Oxfam: Oxfam is a documented ANDES partner on food sovereignty, farmers' rights, and UNFCCC COP advocacy. As a global development incumbent, Oxfam is a comparable for advocacy reach, multi-country programmatic scale, and donor-relationship management.
• International Potato Center (CIP / CGIAR): CIP is ANDES' primary scientific partner on potato conservation and the recipient of the 2011 Potato Park variety donation. As a globally dominant CGIAR center, CIP is a broad incumbent operating in the same crop gene pool and climate-adaptation research space as ANDES.

Regional players

• Fundación EcoAndina: A regional Andean NGO focused on biodiversity conservation and sustainable agriculture in mountain ecosystems. Its thematic focus on native crop conservation and smallholder livelihoods makes it a close regional peer for ANDES' Potato Park and Chalakuy Maize Park programs.
• Association for Nature and Sustainable Development (EcoCiencia): EcoCiencia is an Ecuadorian environmental NGO working on biodiversity conservation, sustainable development, and indigenous community rights — closely paralleling ANDES' mission in a neighboring Andean country and providing a regional comparable for funding and impact scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@asociacion_andes_cusco
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/asociaci%C3%B3n-andes

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Asociación ANDES