Women’s Weaving Co-op Ccaccaccollo

Our Travelsphere Cares programme, in partnership with the Planeterra Foundation, supports local projects and social enterprises by helping them earn an income from the tourism industry. We simply donate a portion of the funds from our tours, so it’s great to know that when you travel with us you are helping to change lives and create a positive impact from travel.

Despite the close proximity 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.

The Ccaccaccollo Women’s Weaving Co-op supports a community of over 800 residents, funding training programmes to help bring back the weaving traditions that had started to become lost over the generations. The women of the Ccaccaccollo community saw men from the village start to work in tourism and wondered how they, too could benefit. In 2004, they approached Planeterra and asked what things they might be able to do that the tourism industry in the area would be interested in. The women also wanted to bring back their weaving traditions and engage the next generation, as well as earn an income to contribute to their households and their children’s education. And that’s how the weaving cooperative was born. Since then, they’ve hosted thousands of travellers in their community to share their traditions.

Today, more than 45 women are part of the cooperative, constantly learning new methods and styles of weaving and knitting, whilst also maintaining traditional ones, and producing textiles made from llama and alpaca wool. Women involved in the project report that their children are now able to study at university – approximately 50 to date are enrolled in post-secondary education - and they are the first generation to be completely literate in Spanish, opening up a world of opportunities for employment.

On our ‘Epic Peru’ tour, you will visit the project and learn all about the weaving and dyeing techniques used to create traditional garments. There’s also the opportunity to purchase souvenirs directly from the women who made them, so you know your purchase is having an impact.