These photos were taken by Wichi children from a small village of indigenous Wichi people in Argentina as part of Wichi/H20, a photography project that is part of Cloudhead Art Organization.
THE WICHI ARE an indigenous Argentine group of people. They were originally nomadic, but as farming and agriculture proliferated throughout the country, the Wichi found the land they normally used for hunting and gathering grew too small to support them.
Now they live in small villages around the Salta province in northwest Argentina. They often don’t have enough food or clean water, and many of the children are dying of malnutrition.
Cloudhead ART brings donated digital cameras and puts them in the hands of the children of a town named Hickmann. These are some of the literally thousands of their photos. All profits from the sales of these photos go directly to build a community garden and develop clean drinking water for the children’s village.
You can purchase Wichi/H20 photos on Cloudhead’s Artslant website. If there is a photo you see in the gallery that’s not available on the site, email me at leigh [at] cloudhead [dot] org.
1
Shy smiles
The abuela on her bed. I'm not sure why but people in Hickmann often pose with their hands covering their mouths, especially when smiling. This goes for male and female.
2
Guess the game
Hide and seek? Taking a nap?
3
Nap time?
Tired at the end of a long day? Probably not. They're posing for the camera.
Animals roam freely through the village and around. Chickens, dogs, pigs and goats. I love that you can see two kids' shadows at the bottom right of the screen.
5
One road
The road leading up to the Wichi village. We have many photos of kids riding their bikes up and down this area. One of these is for sale on ArtSlant.
6
Lux life
The television inside the house suggests this family has electricity. Most do not. It is a rare luxury in Hickmann.
7
Woodworking
Ramon, one of the village leaders, makes a table from wood he found near Hickmann.
The kids love to play. They may not have iPad's or legos, but they're always having fun.
13
Tree playground
The children love to photography the trees they climb. This one is in the center of the village.
14
Rinse cycle
Laundry day includes heating water then washing the clothes in a small tub. The clothing in the green bin is clothing for a family of about seven.
15
Keeping house
Here you see the straw brooms used to clear extra dirt from around the village. Used on both the dirt outside the house and the concrete floors inside.
