Support Ecuadorian Farmers with Wanku

GIVEAWAY ALERT! Enter to win free Wanku at the bottom of this post! 

Sometimes connecting with other cultures and supporting communities in need can begin simply by making changes to your everyday lifestyle. In fact, it can all start by purchasing a drink called Wanku.

It’s the little things that make a big difference, and I’m on a mission that I’ve called #littleBIGthings to show the world that traveling can be a driver for change, in big and little ways. One glass of Wanku is one of those little things that can turn into something big. Their mission is to help Ecuadorian farmers improve their quality of life and preserve the farming of medicinal herbs common to the region, as it becomes more challenging to make a living from these practices.

What is Wanku?

Wanku is a tasty herbal drink similar to tea. For many years, locals in the Andes Mountains of Ecuador have been consuming this traditional herbal infusion known as “the healing water” for its fruity taste and health benefits. Wanku is made with a blend of over 20 medicinal herbs and aromatic flowers like lemongrass, chamomile, and white basil that come from the Andes Mountains. These natural, organic ingredients are sourced at fair trade prices straight from Ecuadorian farmers working hard to make a living.

How Wanku Began

The founders of Wanku, Juan Giraldo and Nicolás Estrella, went road tripping around the southern part of Ecuador and ended up in a small village in the heart of the Andes Mountains called Chuquiribamba. Here, they met a local farmer named Miguel Tambo who kindly showed them around his farm and brewed up a special ancestral drink for them at his home. However, life as a farmer in a rural Ecuadorian village did not provide Miguel with enough income to sustain his family, so his son had to leave his family and village to find better opportunities in the city to support them.

Juan and Nicolás were struck by this and saw the potential that this tasty drink boasting health benefits had to be successful in the other markets internationally, while also helping to improve the livelihood of Miguel and his family and other farmers in the region. The idea of Wanku soon came to them, a way to share this beverage profitably with people around the world while also supporting local Ecuadorian farmers in Chuquiribamba and the surrounding region.

What’s Next?

Wanku does help farmers like Miguel, but there is so much more that needs to be done to truly make an impact on creating sustainable lifestyles for these people. Juan and Nicolás plan to start a foundation that helps independent farmers by making resources on training and production more easily accessible to them.

How You Can Get Involved

With this one drink, Wanku is spreading Ecuadorian culture worldwide and making an impact in the local community. Learn more about how you can get involved and be notified when their upcoming crowdfunding campaign launches by subscribing to their newsletter at livewanku.com, or by entering to win free Wanku in the giveaway below!

The quecha word “Wanku” translates to “together,” which is the perfect way to describe Wanku. They work closely together with the farmers in Ecuador, and to prepare Wanku there are over 20 herbs and flowers needed to be brought together. Together, we can support this movement to ignite change in rural Ecuador.

Enter the giveaway below to win one of the following prizes so you can give Wanku a try yourself!

6 months of free Wanku supply (1 case of 12 bottles per month – delivered)
3 months of  free Wanku supply (1 case of 12 bottles per month – delivered)
1 month of free Wanku supply (1 case – delivered)

Open to US-residents only. You must be 18 years or older to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

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This post was sponsored by Wanku. If you have any questions about the companies or products mentioned on this page, please reach out to me and I will happily answer them.