Social Project in Willoq Community

The Willoq Community is located 1 hour away from Ollantaytambo, the tourism doesn’t benefit them even though thousands of tourists flock by Ollantaytambo to Machu Picchu. Especially the communities which are in the Sacred Valley. While other remote communities don’t get any benefits. We decided to reach a proper remote community located in the highlands of the Sacred Valley. These indigenous communities still maintain a traditional way of life and are dedicated mainly to agricultural activities, raising llama and alpacas, and weaving activities as their clothes.

In order to provide a viable economic alternative for the women to leave the extreme poverty. We start working with the women from Willoq community to develop a women’s weaving cooperative. AB Expeditions groups are able to visit this community making a volunteer visit before your trips to Machu Picchu begin or after finishing your trips. Here you will meet local women and learn about all the stages of the weaving process like hand-spinning the wool, dying the wool using natural plants, and participating in a weaving demonstration.

Also, you will learn about the local’s farming labor, you will visit the farmlands and participate in their daly life like planting, harvesting, giving grass to guinea pigs, raising animals, depending on what season you visit, and preparing local delicious meals to share among with local women and kids. You have also the chance to buy high-quality textiles and souvenirs directly from the women who made them.

Until now, 10 women are part of the association, constantly learning new methods and techniques of production to make items that our travelers find useful for themselves and their trips, at the same time also keeping the traditional weaving methods, techniques to produce textiles made from alpaca wool.