Ccaccaccollo Women Weaving Co-OP is a great example of sustainable tourism and a 100% women owned business, definitely a must visit when you travel to Peru’.
This initiative is supported by G Adventures in Collaboration with Planeterra. They started with involving less than 5 women now there more than 45 women who are making a sustainable business by mastering the art of weaving.
Despite the close proximity to the more touristy areas of Cusco and Machu Picchu, the Quechuan indigenous family belonging to this community managed to preserve their traditional lifestyle and yet making the most out of tourism.
Elder people are only speaking Quechua but the younger generations, who are benefiting from tourism, they now have access to a better education and learning Spanish as a second language.
Today there are more than 60 weavers in the community who are using their traditional techniques of manual spinning of wool, using natural dyes from plants and flowers, and hand weaving it.
By visiting the community you can assist to the entire weaving process: Starting with cleaning the wool with this root called “Saqta” or “Incan shampoo” it is a natural soap/detergent with antibacterial properties. Quechuan women use it as organic shampoo too, and their hair it’s just amazing!
After the wool is cleaned and dried they proceed in preparing the colours: they are all natural and are a combination of different ingredients for example: dried smashed ladybug with lime juice give a strong red colour as result.
Once the colour is prepared they drenched the wool inside the colour and voila’ the wool is ready to be woven!
It goes without saying how inspiring these women are! and I suggest everyone visiting the Sacred Valley Area to stop by the Ccaccaccollo Community and support their local business.
This project is a good example of how communities can benefit from tourism without suffering negative social and cultural impacts and how you as traveller can make an impact on others people lives!
