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.

Ccaccaccollo is an Indigenous community located in the Andean area of Cusco. It is inhabited primarily by 140 Quechua-speaking families who maintain a traditional way of life, with many involved in agriculture. To preserve their rich cultural heritage and earn additional income, the Ccaccaccollo Women’s Weaving Co-op was established. Through their efforts, they are reviving the lost weaving traditions of previous  generations.

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. Like in many communities worldwide, women in Ccaccaccollo faced exclusion from educational and economic opportunities, highlighting the need for a solution that empowers them to support themselves and their families.

Planeterra partnered with the Ccaccaccollo community in 2005 to establish a women's weaving cooperative, aiming to create economic opportunities for the women. We supported the co-op with capacity-building programs, facilities, and equipment. New production methods were introduced to appeal to travellers, while preserving traditional weaving techniques with llama and alpaca wool.

The impact of tourism

Today, more than 80 are employed as 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. In addition to this;

  • Co-op members have been able to contribute to their families’ income

  • Women who have been with the project since the beginning report that all of their children attend university

  • Those involved in the cooperative are the first generation to be completely literate in Spanish

  • The community is using tourism as a tool to protect and preserve natural and cultural resources and express, share, develop, and pursue their traditions

  • Due to the success of the Co-op, they have since opened a Community Homestay

On our ‘Latin Wonders of the World’ tour and Wonders of 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.

Traveller Louise meets the women of Ccaccaccollo

“At the end of 2023, I had the privilege of meeting the women of the Ccaccaccollo Women’s Weaving co-operative during a tour to Peru, and experience that proved extraordinary.

The community sits between Machu Picchu and Cuzco, and sadly, most tourists pass by without realising the opportunity they’re missing - to meet, and spend time, with these wonderful women. But we didn’t pass by, instead our group spent several hours with the community and we listened as they talked to us about their way of life, shared stories about their families and discovered how they are now able to earn a sustainable income from tourism. This visit offered a deeply humbling insight to Peruvian culture.

The garments they create are crafted from sheep, llama and alpaca wool as well as vicuña wool - the finest wool in the world, only found in the mountains of Peru.  Softer than cashmere and more valuable than gold, it’s little wonder that vicuña is often called ‘The Gold of the Andes’. The most prized wool is baby alpaca which comes from the first ever shearing of an alpaca. The women use natural ingredients - plants and fruits from the surrounding mountains - to dye their wool in vibrant colours. One of the fun facts I discovered - they call lemons, limes!

The women of the cooperative have crafted so many beautiful products – I could have bought everything. Fortunately, a couple of the ladies kindly helped me to style and pick out just one…or or maybe two items.

This remarkable project began with just three women and now, thanks to Planeterra, Travelsphere Cares and visits from travellers, 80 people in the community are employed and over 500 people are benefiting from this cooperative and its products. What’s more - all of the women and families employed have been able to send their children to university, this was unimaginable when the co-operative first began.

Listening to these women express their gratitude and explain how our visits have helped transform their lives was so incredibly touching. I never truly realised how much a small visit could have such an impact on them and their families' lives. This was a visit I would make time and time again, it’s not only their lives that have been changed, mine has too. It’s given me a new outlook on travelling, community tourism… and life!"