aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa _________________ Water Project North Coast Tour Huaraz/Chavin Trek Mission Statement Email * MOCHE, Inc. PO Box 5201 Chapel Hill, NC 27514-5002       Our History      Nearly a decade ago, Brian Billman and Jesus Briceņo began a long-term archaeological project in the Moche Valley. After the first season, they faced the same problems every project faces in Peru: looting of archaeological sites and rural poverty. Typically, archaeologists will hire one or two people to protect an archaeological site during the off-season, a strategy that usually is not very successful. In 1998, they embarked on a different path, hiring the entire village of Ciudad de Dios to protect their archaeological site by offering to fund $1200 worth of development projects each year the site remains untouched. At that time, Ciudad de Dios still had not been recognized by the local government and lacked even the most basic services. Since the program began, looting has effectively stopped at Ciudad de Dios, and a number of community-defined development projects have been completed. Click here to read more: History (English) or Historia (Espaņol).       Village elder in the Moche Valley aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Saving archaeological sites by helping rural communities; helping rural communities by saving archaeological sites. _____________________________________________________________________ Please direct questions or concerns regarding this website to Barker Fariss at fariss@savethemoche.org, thank you.