Raqchi

Our next stop is Raqchi, an eco-tourism spot popular for its archeological dig.  It is quite a long drive from San Salvador and we stop for lunch before we make the trek to Raqchi. Ciro takes us to his favourite fried pork restaurant. Not my thing so I opt for the only other item on the menu ~ chicken soup, which turns out to be a very large bowl indeed, sporting the biggest chicken leg I have ever seen and I struggle to make my way through it. It appears I've made the right choice as my MIMDES host gets violently ill that night ~ apparently eating greasy food on one's first day in Cusco while adjusting to the altitude is a lethal combination !

We get to Raqchi quite late in the afternoon and the women have been waiting for us since 3:00 PM. We apologise for our late arrival and have a quick chat with the women. Raqchi runs an eco-tourism assocation and the women promise to come see me later for an extended chat.

I am a bit confused as to what is happening but as it turns out, I am the only one staying overnight in this eco tourism resort, whilst the rest of the gang heads back to Cusco (a 2.5 hr car ride). I will be visiting other associations in the area the next day before heading back and we have to find a driver that can take me around. 

We get back on the road and drive to San Pedro to sort my transport. The only thing available is an overpriced minivan ~ normally used to ferry locals up and down the highway  ~  owned by a toothless mamita who does not speak a word of English, but my choices are limited (none actually), so we settle on a price and pickup time in the morning. 

 

By the time we get back to Raqchi it is pitch black and it is with some trepidation that I say goodbye to the gang.  I enter the guesthouse and my host comes in to set the table for dinner with beautifully colourful ceramic plates for me and her kids. Am afflicted by the altitude and a bit pale around the edges. I can't stomach much other than a bit of dry bread and cheese. Pity really as she has put together a nice meal and her kids tuck in heartily. In between giggles they tell me about their school and what they want to be when they grow up ~ the 12-year old boy wants to be a chef and maybe enter the tourism business. The 10-year old girl wants to be a doctor. Later on another son ambles in, he is about 15 and speaks a tiny bit of English. He too wants to enter the business.

My room

toilet/shower

After dinner there is a knock on the door and one by one the women file into my reasonable spacious room. They strike down on the floor and soon the room is awash with colour, talk and laughter. I pull out my Spanish questions and amazingly we manage to communicate between the women speaking Quechua, my simplistic Spanish and the tiny bit of English translation from the eldest son. 

 

There are 13 families in the Raqchi eco-tourism association (known as turismo vivencial in Spanish) and a total of 4 different homes to stay (the women have a rotation system for bookings). A stay costs $35 which includes dinner and breakfast. The association was assisted by the Cusco-Puno Corridor funding, receiving technical assistance to build kitchens, bathrooms and furnishing guest quarters. An Internet cafe was also set up in the Raqchi village square as part of the Cusco-Puno Corridor project. 

There are other eco-tourism destinations along the Cusco-Puno Corridor and the women rely on agents in Cusco and Puno for client bookings. They do not use the Internet themselves and when I ask why they just laugh and say it is for the young people, who like to use it for their homework. When they can, that is, as I am told that the signal has been down for over a month and nobody is rushing to fix it. Perhaps by the next generation Raqchi will be able to make its own bookings.

The families complement their income selling handicrafts and ceramics ~ many sell the beautiful dishes I've been eating off, which have unique family designs. Life has improved significantly for these villagers now that they have a reasonably steady income. They are now able to afford better nutrition ~ creating better health conditions ~ school uniforms and supplies for their childre. Some are even able to afford costly tertiary education for their children. 

Conditions remain 'primitive' ~ or at least by western standards ~ the bathroom is walking distance from the room but it is dark at night and one could easily stumble over the various steps. There is no hot water for showering despite the assurance that the contraption hooked into the fuse box will deliver. But the bed is comfy and cozy with piles of blankets for a cold night in the mountains. We discuss their desire to get solar panels on their homes for consistent power and hot water. It would reduce their footprint and enhance the eco-tourism experience ~ what a treat talking to these switched on women.

The next morning there is a knock on the door at 7:00 AM and breakfast is brought in. The kids are heading off to school and drop by to kiss me goodbye. I chat with the women in the courtyard while they wash dishes and spin their yarn. They tell me I should go to the square and see the ruins, which will take about 45 minutes. It will only cost 10 soles.  I can't imagine I'll be there all that long but nod and stroll into the square and onwards through a small lane into the open field and wow.... 

Raqchi is home to an ancient temple of the Inka, Wiraqocha Temple. There in front of me, in all its glory, are the huge remains of the walls, buildings and stones of a simply stunning archeological site, which for most of my visit I have all to myself.  Not visible from the road and entirely unexpected having arrived on dark,  I am awe struck by the sacred beauty of Raqchi and my previous night's reluctance to stay here turns to gratitude for this magical gift.

Cusco-Puno Corridor

Happy New Year!!  Am still trying to catch up on field trips from December and although I am tempted to write about more recent events, I am going to be diligent and take us back to earlier in December.

My MIMDES host has arranged a meeting with Agro-Rural, a section of the Agricultural Ministry, to see whether I can visit some women associations that practice agriculture. Cesar greets us warmly when we meet and after a brief chat says he would be happy to organise a visit for me at various places along the Cusco-Puno Corridor.

The Cusco-Puno Corridor project aims to increase rural and urban incomes in the Puno-Cusco area by supporting agricultural production and development of the manufacturing and services sectors by micro- and small-scale enterprises. To reduce rural poverty and increase rural-urban linkages, the project provides technical assistance, training, investment funds for community initiatives, legal and entrepreneurial development advice, product certification, interaction between buyers and sellers of goods and services, and financial services. The project has a knowledge brokering component delivered face-to-face and via tele-centres which are located in several places along the corridor. People who benefit from the project include subsistence farmers and herders marginally inserted in the local markets, and small groups of micro entrepreneurs who use simple technologies and have limited access to financial resources. access to Internet.  It sounds interesting so I decide to head back to Cusco.

The tricky part is going to be the timing. Peruvians celebrate immaculate conception (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Immaculate_Conception) as a holiday (Dec 8) and we have to make sure people are around for the visit. But these things seems to have a way of working themselves out and my MIMDES host ~ who is combining a visit to Cusco for another project with the opportunity to accompany me on part of semi coordinate our travel from Lima to Cusco -- same route and timing that is, but different airlines.

There are a number of stops on the schedule, so a fair bit to tell, so will cover different stops in different blogs. First stop after arriving in Cusco, being greeted by Ciro the local agro-rural rep, and after about an hour's drive in a twin cab ute, we reach the municipality of San Salvador, where we visit an assocation of women Kiwicha producers.

The association has been up and running for about 4 years – San Salvador won a local government capacity building grant. The organisation initially attracted  14 women, but not all were able/willing to contribute 10% of their own money to the project grant and now only 4 women remain active in the association. Local government has helped to improve the capacity of these women in terms of setting up their infrastructure and equipment as well as how to use the machinery. 

The women make bread, cakes and cookes and have a capacity to produce 2200 packages of handmade organic cookies per week, which they sell at 1 sole per packet. When I express surprise at the low price I am told that this is in fact twice as expensive as commercially produced cookies and that they wouldn't be able to compete at all if they charged more.

San Salvador is a tourist destination (more about that shortly) so they are able to sell many cookies locally. They also sell at fairs in the region. They make enough money to pay off their debts but have no savings and say they expect to start making a profit next year. To date they have been using their own land to grow kiwiche grain for the production of the cookies, but if they want to expand production in future they will need to start purchasing grain. As long as there is grant money in the bank from the grant the women will be able to buy grain from external sources, but it will eat into their already meagre margin. Still, they talk about their desire to expand the business and sell wholesale. When Ciro from Agro Rural asks how much money they each put into the business, they shake their heads saying they don't know, revealing the need for some core business skills such as keeping books and marketing, given that wholesale would require them to compete in the market place against much larger companies.

We are about to leave San Salvador but my host from MIMDES pleads for a small side trip up the mountain near San Salvador to visit Señor de Huanca sanctuary. According to the legend, in 1675 Diego Quispe who was an Indian escaped from the Yasos mine where he had suffered abuse. He hid from his master in a cave, and it is said that this place was illuminated by the presence of Jesus who spoke to Diego and told him to go back to his village.  Every year, on September 14, thousands of devotees from Peru and also from places such as Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Chile make a pilgrimage to the Santuary of Huanca to receive its healing powers and blessings from El Señor. Often people will take new cars to be blessed ~ must be why Peru roads are relatively safe, compared to Bangladesh that is...