For a few years now, MOCHE has been interested in expanding the model that we began at Ciudad de Dios to other parts of the middle Moche Valley. Throughout that time we have held discussions and town meetings with the town of Bello Horizonte. Bello Horizonte is one of the larger towns in the valley and is centrally located with a functioning government and infrastructue. CHeck out the work we have done in the past few summers to begin the relationship with this town, and learn more about the regional medical clinic that we building.

MOCHE has been working in Ciudad de Dios since we started, and we continue to commit time, energy resources and expertise to assist the town grow and develop in a responsible way. Currently we are engaged with our partners at Engineers Without Borders to provide a total sanitation plan for Ciudad. This includes running water, proper garbage and recycling facilities, educaiton, sewage treatment and organic composting. We have completed many of these goals already many of our current and planned projects focus on accomplishing these goals.

Before MOCHE was incorporated, the original goal of our founders was to work with local communities to protect and understand the rich cultural heritage of Peru. To this day we keep this as a major goal and all of our programs, in one way or another, work toward archaeological protection. Our relationshiops with the communities encourage site protection and a deeper understanding of the past. Our archaeological field schools and guest research programs work to excavate some of the sites in the valley and the towns of Ciudad de Dios, Bello Horizonte and Cerro Blanco are all active in protecting local archaeological reserves.

Water is essential to all life and it is a tragedy that millions of people in Peru do not have access to a steady supply of clean water. Water facilities in the Moche Valley are not currently adequate to supply enough water to all households. The pure volume of water is not currently meeting demand and many of the people of the middle valley do not have a source of potable water at all. MOCHE has a number of programs and partnerships that try to build capacity in the current water systems and to expand access to all. We have worked with Ciudad de Dios to construct a gravity fed, sustainable water system that provides clean water to each house, and we have partnered with Cerro Blanco to construct a reservoir and PVC pipe system to expand capacity.

Archaeologists work hard to excavate and protect archaeological sites, and it is unfortunate that more people do not have the opportunity to see, these ancient wonders. Well, MOCHE is trying to change that. We are working with local communities and governments to try and save archaeological sites from destruction. In addtion, we are working to a long-term goal of creating a sustainable cultural tourism industry in the valley. Check out our vision here.

MOCHE is proud to announce the first of our preliminary assessments of the Avendaño eco-reserve. Much of the land of the Moche Valley has been exploited by humans for generations. Unfortunately this means that much of the natural landscape has been destroyed, water supplies have been polluted and animals have been over-hunted. Here at MOCHE, we are not only aware of the importance of culture, but we are eco-conscience as well. We have started a long process aiming at protecting some of the wild habitat of the upper-middle valley. In the past many animal and plant species inhabited this region, but now much of the deer and spectacled bear have left for more remote locaitons.