Empower Peruvian Women Living in Poverty

Although our contact with our group of women has been limited due to pandemic restrictions in Cusco, we have none the less been able to make quite a bit of progress with our project. We have adapted our system of building guinea pig houses, hiring members of the local community to make the adobe bricks used for the walls of the structures, rather than buying them from other producers. This is an asset to both us and the community, as we can avoid transport costs bringing in the adobe bricks from other areas and we can provide work for people in the village, which is much needed during these times.

Using this system, we have finished the main structure of two new guinea pig structures for two additional women to begin their businesses. We just need to add roofing and other materials that we must transport in from other areas, which is now possible due to travel restrictions being lifted. Local village members are also in the process of building the walls for one more structure, meaning that soon, three women will have a brand-new start for guinea pig raising!

Now in Business!

We are also proud to report that even during the pandemic, the first businesses we helped to set up have been successfully operating and selling their first guinea pigs! Local restaurants have been allowed to re-open, and many are seeking naturally raised meats, which is great for the women in our programme. As Peru lifts even more restrictions in the coming months, we expect their businesses to flourish.

Greenhouse Plans

In our last report, we spoke about a new aspect to our programme – greenhouses for organic vegetable farming. We are currently speaking with Erlinda, the leader of the group of women we work with in Pinagua, about plans for our first greenhouse. We have the design laid out and should be purchasing all necessary materials soon. Hopefully, with our next report, we’ll have new photos to share from this exciting addition to our project.

Thank you for taking the time to read our update, and as always, thank you for your continued, invaluable support. If you would like to donate, and we hope you do, please visit our page to do so!