ccaccaccollo community, Peru
In 2005, Planeterra and Gap Adventures developed and offered practical training courses for the Ccaccaccollo community of Peru.
Despite close vicinity to Cuzco and Machu Picchu, and the thousands of tourists that visit these sites each year, very few communities from the surrounding countryside benefit from tourism. These indigenous communities maintain a traditional way of life, and are dedicated mainly to pastoral and agricultural activities. In order to provide work opportunities for members of this community, men from Ccaccaccollo are employed by Gap Adventures to work as porters and cooks on the Inca Trail, and through the development of the women’s weaving co-op, we are providing a viable economic alternative for the women as well.
Planeterra has since developed a women’s weaving project with the wives of cooks and porters. Travellers can meet the women to learn about the weaving process and purchase high quality textiles directly from them.
A percentage of money earned by Gap Adventures porters and cooks and the women weavers goes into a community fund which is used to fund initiatives such as fixing up the school and providing clean drinking water.
Past donations through Planeterra have included construction materials for a building that is used for women to weave indoors when it is raining and as a place for community meetings.Other support includes funding a three-day dental clinic and purchasing eight Alpacas so the women have a continuous supply of wool.
Learn more about the Planeterra’s women’s weaving project here. We also support a stove-building project in a nearby community that is expanding to Cccaccollo. Learn more about how Planeterra’s support of stove-building can decrease hazardous smoke in the homes of rural Peruvian amilies.
