Written by Gwen
Photos From our Time in Huilloc
Huilloc is a small town in the Andes mountains that we were able to spend three days in. Here are some photos from our stay:
We arrive and are greeted by the community with flowers, music, and the offer to wear their traditional handmade clothing. We collect our bags while wearing the colorful skirts, hats, and ponchos.
After a steep climb up the mountain, we reach one of the many farms in the town. The Huilloc community is mostly self sustainable, the food is sewn and harvested by their own hands. Here, we harvest Oka, yucca root, and Fava beans.
The ladies of Huilloc prepare for a way of cooking food that is saved for special occasions: Pachamanka, a seasonal dish for dry season. A hole is dug and a fire is stoked, then rocks are heated on the fire all day while harvesting takes place. Different layers of potato, Oka, sweet potato, and meat are layered on the hot rocks, then buried and cooked.
We enjoyed the beautiful spread of food cooked in the Pachamanka way. For some of us it was our first time trying Cuy meat.
The ladies set up a beautiful market displaying their hand made textiles. Everything is hand made from sheep and alpaca wool, dyed with natural plants, and woven for about two months, depending on the project. I purchased a bracelet. Tourists and visitors who come to the Huilloc community are the main way that the ladies sell their textiles. Due to lack of communication (Quechua is the main language) and technology, they haven’t started selling their creations on a larger scale. In my conversation with one of the women, Justina said that her dream was to sell her community’s textiles in the U.S. for a fair price.
On our final day in Huilloc, we had so much fun playing soccer against the community. There was a lot of slipping, laughing, shoes flying, and of course the beautiful backdrop of the mountains. Offense on our part was very hard with the swarm of kiddos playing defense.