Our company has strong links with the community of Paucartambo and the driving motive behind our project in Paucartambo is to give something back to this unique community.
What is Agro-tourism?
Agro-tourism is a branch of eco-tourism, with local or native agriculturalists receiving visitors who may simply observe, but more usually will actively participate in, the growing, harvesting and processing of locally grown foods, with farmers providing home-stays (hotel accommodation is also available) and educational or work experience opportunities.
When it is responsibly managed agro-tourism directly benefits local farmers by providing them with additional income, as well as encouraging them to continue practicing traditional farming methods which are environmentally friendly. At the same time, agro-tourism gives predominantly city-dwelling visitors from the developed world the chance to experience the direct contact with the land which their own cultures lost long ago. Few other types of tourism are able to offer the inter-cultural exchange and mutual understanding – gained through shared, physical work – experienced by those who participate in agro-tourism.
Paucartambo – Virgin Earth
The small town of Paucartambo is a quiet colonial backwater set some 2,800 meters above sea level amid imposing scenery at the confluence of the Mapacho and Qenqo Mayo rivers, some three hours by dusty, narrow road from Cusco.
The town is famous throughout the Cusco region for its annual festival in honour of the Virgin of Carmen. For three days each year, from the 15th to the 17th of July, the town fills to overflowing with the thousands of visitors who come to watch it play host to one of South America’s most vibrant and fascinating fiestas. But for the rest of the year picturesque Paucartambo is simply one of poorest – and yet beautiful - parts of Peru, where local inhabitants make their living by farming the rolling green hills that surround the town.
Living on the Land
Since the agrarian reforms of the 1960s which ended the neo-feudal hacienda system in Peru, the farmland around Paucartambo has been owned by those who work the land. Each family owns a smallholding, upon which they grow a number of crops, including potatoes, beans and corn.
Our vision for agro-tourism in Paucartambo involves the participation of visitors from the developed world in the lives of these traditional agriculturalists. While visitors will be staying at our company’s house in the town itself and at a charming cottage in the countryside, they will essentially be the guests of the families they work with.
Each day will be spent participating in the daily lives of local people: working the land, sharing in household chores and gradually developing a relationship with both the family and the land itself. Days here are governed by the elements, while lives are shaped by the passing seasons. Work in the fields begins at sunrise and continues until around four in the afternoon, with a break around noon for lunch under open skies.
Art and Tradition
Paucartambo’s remarkable history and folklore, coupled with our own close relationship with the community, mean that our guests have a unique opportunity to observe, learn about and participate in a number of activities in the evenings and at weekends.
The great tradition of the annual festival of the Virgin of Carmen means that the town is peopled by craftsmen and women, artisans, musicians and dancers, and we organize workshops, demonstrations and even classes for those interested in learning about subjects as diverse as Andean music, weaving, woodcarving, mask making and even indigenous Peruvian cinema.
We can even offer our guests a visit to the cloud forest, some two hours beyond Paucartambo on a road that descends from the Andes into the Amazon rainforest, and each group’s stay in the town culminates with a celebration including local music and dance.
When to come
We follow the agricultural calendar, and in order to fully experience the relationship between the community of Paucartambo and the land, the best time to visit is during either the planting or harvesting seasons. Staple crops such as corn, beans and potatoes are harvested from December to March, with potatoes planted from June to July and corn and beans from September to October. Growing seasons are long in the Andes due to the high altitudes.
How long should you plan to stay?
Those visitors who truly wish to develop a meaningful relationship with the community should plan to visit for between 14 and 21 days, and thereby fully immerse themselves in the life of the family they work with and take home with them a sense of having lived on the land. We do, however, also offer shorter stays of 5 days, which can be combined with agro-tourism experiences in other regions of Peru, including the desert coast and the Amazon forest, or with more traditional itineraries.
To all our guests we offer the option of extending their stay in Peru with trips to the main attractions of Cusco, Machu Picchu and the Amazon rainforest.
Our commitment to the community
Before offering our agro-tourism programs in Paucartambo we worked closely with local community leaders to ensure that both the local people and our guests benefit in equal measure from the experience offered. We believe that the shared benefits of this unique experience in agro-tourism include: economic gain for one of Peru’s most impoverished regions; support for traditional land use; the development of mutual respect through cultural exchange.
For more information on how you can participate in this unique experience, contact us directly
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