Who we support

The Chawaytire community is a traditional textile Quechua village located about a 45 minute drive from the town of Pisac in the Sacred Valley of the Incas (12,000 feet elevation). They make the highest quality, naturally dyed, handwoven textiles in the region. The weavers have mastery of creating intricate color gradations using natural dyes. They utilize backstrap looms, as well as four-stake ones, weaving double-faced fabric (the pattern is the same on both sides but the colors opposite) & others traditional techniques.

They are direct dependents of Inca Tribe & hold the knowledge to preserve the weaving art that has been passed down for generations.

A visit to the community is a unique opportunity to meet the weavers themselves, interact with the community, learn about their traditions & way of life. We support their craft knowing that 100% of the profit is going directly back to the people who wove the object you buy.

Chawaytire is also home to The Potato Park , a unique model of holistic conservation of the Andean traditional landscape with a focus on conservation of agrobiodiversity. The park covers a total of 9,280 hectares & has a population of 3,880 inhabitants.  The first human settlements in the area are dated at some 3,000 years ago.

The Potato Park is also the center of origin of the potato, nurtured for centuries by the deeply rooted local food systems of the Quechua people. The region is home to 8 known native & cultivated species of potato. As well as 2,300 varieties of the 235 species & over 4,000 varieties of potatoes found in the world. Also found in the region are 23 of over 200 wild species found in the world. That's a lot of potatoes! 

The genetic diversity found within just one plot in the area can reach up to 150 varieties. Apart from potatoes, other native Andean crops such as olluco, beans, maize, quinoa, wheat, tarwi, mashua & oca are produced.

The Shipibo-Conibo are an indigenous people along the Ucayali River in the Amazon rainforest of Peru. Formerly two groups, the Shipibo & the Conibo, they eventually became one distinct tribe through intermarriage & communal ritual. Now, they are currently known as the Shipibo-Conibo people.

The Shipibo-Conibo live in the 21st century while keeping one foot in the past, spanning millennia in the Amazonian Rainforest. Many of their traditions are still practiced, such as ayahuasca shamanism. Shamanistic songs have inspired artistic tradition & decorative designs found in their clothing, pottery, tools & textiles. Some of the urbanized people live around Pucallpa in the Yarina Cocha, an extensive indigenous zone.

Shipibo-Conibo women make beadwork & textiles. They are well-known for their pottery, decorated with maze-like red & black geometric patterns. While these ceramics were traditionally made for use in the home, an expanding tourist market has provided many households with extra income through the sale of pots & other craft items.

The Shipibo of the village of Pao-Yan used to have a diet of fish, yuca & fruits. Recently, however, the situation has deteriorated because of global weather changes & now there is mostly just yuca + fish. Since there has been drought followed by flooding, most of the mature fruit trees have died & some of the banana trees & plantains are struggling. Global increases in energy & food prices have risen due to deforestation + erosion along the Ucayali River. 

The basic needs of the people are more important now than ever, affecting their long-term planning abilities. There is now a sense that hunger may not be that far off for those in the farther reaches of the Shipibo nation.

With an estimated population of over 20,000, the Shipibo-Conibo represent approximately 8% of the indigenous registered population. Census data is unreliable due to the transitory nature of the group. Large amounts of the population have relocated to urban areas – in particular the eastern Peruvian cities of Pucallpa & Yarinacocha – to gain access to better educational + health services, as well as to look for alternative sources of monetary income.

Like all other indigenous populations in the Amazon basin, the Shipibo-Conibo are threatened by severe pressure from outside influences such as oil speculation, logging, narco-trafficking, & conservation.