Peru do you think you are?
Capitalising on growing visitor numbers to Machu Picchu, local communities are preserving traditional cultures. SARAH MARSHALL finds out how
OFFERING bouquets of flowers and outstretched arms, the women from Ccaccaccollo village form the warmest welcoming committee. Even the cool elevation of Peru’s heady Sacred Valley does little to dampen the atmosphere.
Wrapped in a woollen shawl and wearing a felt hat with a down-turned brim to signify her married status, 63-year-old Mercedes proudly leads the procession of greeters eager to introduce our tour group to their traditional way of life.
But one man in particular has caught her attention. “Papa Bruce,” she squeals, with almost religious veneration, tears welling in the corners of her eyes.
Dressed in jeans and trainers, Bruce Poon Tip isn’t your typical deity, and looks quite uncomfortable with all the attention.
But for the 60 women employed in the Ccaccaccollo Women’s Weaving Co-operative, the G Adventures’ founder is a god.
As one of the biggest operators on the Inca Trail, G Adventures brings thousands of tourists to the Sacred Valley every year.
The escorted tour company’s impact doesn’t end there though; they’ve also been responsible for funding some of the most successful social enterprises in the region, and Bruce is paying a rare visit to the people whose lives he has changed.
As we walk through the village, harsh sunlight streams through a high ceiling of clouds and flickers from the leaves of eucalyptus trees. Inside a dimly-lit workshop, looms click and clack like donkey carts. A mother and her young daughter are washing bundles of alpaca wool in terracotta bowls and preparing dyes with odd-shaped vegetables and cochineal insects; around them, coils of pumpkin and lime-green wool hang like garlands and children with ruddy cheeks scamper at their feet.
“It’s important we don’t lose this weaving tradition,” explains Mercedes, speaking in Quechua, her native tongue.
“Now our lives are improved and we have money to send our children to school.”
In 2005, G Adventure’s non-profit arm Planeterra helped set up the co-operative, and now many tour groups visit as part of their itinerary, spending money on bright scarves and blankets intricately woven with traditional designs. Bruce sees the project as a fine example of tourism working as a force for good, a value central to his company’s operations.
“Tourism has the potential to change the world,” says the 51-year old who started his company in 1990 by maxing out two credit cards. “What we do is involved; this is about creating projects that intercept with passengers and have a ripple effect in the community.”
A case in point is the Parwa restaurant in the Lamay district, a 20-minute drive north of the Pisac archaeological site.
It’s one of the 50 worldwide projects founded by Planeterra.
The restaurant provides work for 60 families, who grow vegetables for the menu, and serves typical Andean dishes such as causa, a mashed yellow potato terrine enjoyed by the Incas. The addition of a quail’s egg to the dish spawned a whole enterprise of quail egg farming in the community – an example of the ripple effect Bruce talks about.
Food is one of the big draws for visitors to Peru, and being the country’s bread basket, the Andes presents multiple opportunities for agricultural businesses. Part farm and part tourist attraction, Parque de la Papa is a 9,000 hectare site, 3,600-4,500 metres above sea level, dedicated to the cultivation and preservation of potato seeds.
Founded by the Andes NGO, it’s received support from G in terms of both finance and footfall.
Of the 3,000 potato varieties found in Peru, 1,367 are grown here, all different in size, appearance and often taste.
A collection is showcased in a small museum, where local guides explain the planting and harvest process.
Along with the 4,000 travellers who pass through here every year, the Parque also makes money by selling produce to restaurants, including Nuna Raymi in Cusco, an enterprise set up by former G Adventures guide Rocio Zuniga Moreno.
In her restaurant, I sample a meal of indiginous recipes brought up to date with a modern spark.
Admittedly, the bulk of visitors to the Sacred Valley and Machu Picchu will always be drawn by archaeological sites, but communities capitalising on opportunities have found a way to keep old traditions alive in a modern world.
It’s proof, as Bruce says, tourism can be postive force, and if the only footprint we leave is an economic one, that’s really no bad thing. ■ For more information on Peru, visit Peru.travel.
■ G Adventures (gadventures. co.uk; 0344 272 2060) offers various tours to the Sacred Valley, including visits to many of the Planeterra projects. An eight-day Inca Discovery tour costs from £854, excluding flights.