Foundation Friends of the Churches of Chiloé (FAICH) is a nonprofit organization that seeks to preserve the cultural heritage associated with the churches of Chiloé, typified in the School of Architecture Wood Chilota. These temples are born product of the craft of the carpenters and the willingness of communities to work together for a common cause. This old tradition has helped build over the years chilota identity, recognized and appreciated throughout the world and is born as a manifestation of the ancient religion brought by evangelizing missions.
In Chiloé are about 70 churches that respond to this type and have stood the test of time and the weather. Today, 16 of them wear the title of World Heritage granted by UNESCO in 2000. This declaration includes not only tangible aspects relating to the history and architectural beauty of the churches, but also places special emphasis on the intangible, highlighting the social and spiritual values they reflect, that is, participation, solidarity and ownership of own communities, demonstrating a clear spirit of "Minga", under which these churches have remained for centuries.

One of the first missions to ensure this preservation, has been reinvigorate the office of the Carpenters Chilotes, preventing the craft was lost due to migration of young people and the spread of modern techniques and materials. Thus, the Carpenters Chilotes School, was an initiative of the Foundation that in about eight years of operation has allowed crews to generate qualified carpenters to implement interventions to churches with the same ancient techniques, making the joints, assemblies and associations of native wood, the hallmarks of Architecture in Wood Chiloé.
The methods and criteria for intervention and restoration for churches of Chiloé property used by the Foundation, essentially considered the intervention of a "Living Heritage". Thus, running a series of actions aimed at conservation and preservation of churches, their environment and community. These processes consist of intervention Intervention Project Heritage (PIP) and Heritage Memorials Intervention (MIP). All these are based on the following guidelines:

1. Restoration Objective: interventions are always done in terms of their use, trying to extend the life.

2. Exposures to minimize structural damage.

3. Restore the environment of the Churches.

4. Respect for the vernacular building model referred to the School of Architecture Wood Chilota.

5. Incorporate into work the active participation of communities that give life to the site.

6. Sustainability of Interventions for the work to heritage is preserved in time.

The churches of Chiloé, both declared World Heritage by UNESCO in 2000, like other members of the School of Architecture Chilota Wood, have elements and characteristics that have won worldwide appreciation:

• The churches were built with exquisite architectural technique that comes from the office of the shipwright and the influence of techniques made in the process of evangelization. The result is a unique architecture in America.

• They have a number of techniques assemblies, fittings and wood joints. Which are reinforced with dowels and clavicotes.

• The existing churches are centuries old, but in many cases represent a construction of third or fourth generation, because when collapsed or burned, was rebuilt in the same place with the contribution of materials and work in the community.

• Currently some of these churches have been restored with weakened structures to prevent collapse by the passage of time. The work has been undertaken by the Foundation of Friends of the Churches of Chiloé and respected all building systems Chilota own School of Architecture in Madera.

• Each intervention is working as it was originally, with crews of carpenters chilotes and use of ancient techniques with local wood.

• The temples are still used until today to what they were created, keeping the old traditions. Thus, churches are valued for what they represent as Living Heritage, transcending the purely architectural value.

VISITORS CENTER
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CONVENT ANCUD EX

Federico Errazuriz 227, Fono 65-621046, 65-629847

With a century-old building, the former Convent of the Immaculate Conception of Ancud (ICA) has special importance in the history of Ancud. For decades home to a religious congregation, school and worked as a cathedral chapel for 16 years, after the earthquake of 1960.

Today the Chapel is disaffected from the point of view of Church and former convent near the center part of the operations of the Foundation of Friends of the Churches of Chiloé.

Today, the ICA has the offices of the Foundation of Friends of the Churches of Chiloé, the carpentry workshops in the restoration of churches and a large Visitor Center, which is located within the former Chapel and maintains a rich collection of pieces obtained intervention in the processes of churches, imagery, models and all the necessary information so that visitors can really understand the meaning of the wooden churches of Chiloé.
This is an excellent starting point to enter the discovery of the authentic culture trefoil.

The Visitors Center is the starting point for exploring the route of the Churches of Chiloé, specially prepared route for tourists to optimize the visit to Chiloé know many attractions around the churches, such as landscapes, traditions, wetlands, strong , water mills, museums, etc.