Peru is a multilingual and multiethnic country. More than 65 ethnic groups inhabit the Coast, Andes and Amazon regions of the Country. There are approximately 9 million indigenous people in Peru, more than almost any other country in the world. In the Andes and on the Coast, they are organized in peasant communities. In the Amazon they have been grouped in “native communities.”
Quechua peasant with foot plough

In the Andes of Peru, the livelihood of these communities derives from llama and Alpaca herding and subsistence farming. These peoples’ living conditions are poor, with little access to education and healthcare. In areas close to tourist hubs male community members supplement their income working as porters and muleteers during trekking expeditions. Women produce crafts for the odd foreign visitor to their communities and nearby markets.

The Quechua and Aymara peoples of the Andes have one common language: that is the language of weaving. Weaving is an ancestral craft that was being lost to “progress” and whose quality and tradition was being gradually deteriorating. Now thanks to the Center for Traditional Textiles in Cuzco, a non profit organization led by master weaver Nilda Callanaupa, many communities in the Cuzco area are learning to weave again the traditional way. Making textiles with natural hand spun fibers, with natural mineral, vegetable and organic dyes and woven entirely by hand is the Center’s mission.

Chinchero

Aracari promotes and supports the work of the Center of Traditional Textiles, by endeavoring to provide a market for the production of the weavers. With increasing resources, the Center has been able to expand its network and incorporate more communities into the weaving project: where the elderly teach the children their craft.

Aracari also runs a first aid project with one of the peasant communities in the Cuzco area, where our porters and cooks come from.

Please click here for more information about the projects we support.

Aracari runs trips that provide an intimate glimpse into the traditional way of life of Andean communities. We do this through one-to–one encounter with experts in the field of Andean anthropology, through trekking expeditions into areas rich in village life such as the Ausangate region, or through day visits to communities. We also tailor specific weaving itineraries.
To see our sample itineraries, please click here.