Sisters Project Peru Returns to Huacahuasi
Check out the photo gallery at the bottom of this post to see photos from our 2025 visit to Peru!
Day 1 - Exploring Lima
We began our 2025 trip to Peru exploring Lima’s Miraflores neighborhood. It was a great start to the trip! We arrived in Cusco later that evening and finished the day with discussion and reflection, a practice we would continue daily for the rest of the trip.
Day 2 - Collaboration & Curiosity in Cusco
Our day in Cusco began with a meeting with the Peruvian Ministry of Health, where we met with the new director to discuss next steps for the clinic and reinforce our collaborative commitments to building a health clinic that can be incorporated into the Peruvian healthcare system. We finished the day with more exploration of the city: we saw el Museo Precolombino, el Museo Inca, la Plaza de Armas, and, of course, the Chocolate Museum! Check out our Instagram for footage from our time in Cusco.
Day 3 - Understanding the Systems of Huacahuasi
The third day of our trip marked our return to Huacahuasi! Upon arrival, we began a tour of the village, organized with the goal of understanding the community’s food system and way of life. We visited the Huacahuasi Trout farm, village houses, the local convenience store, and the alpaca farms. The women of the village also demonstrated how they weave alpaca wool, which unsurprisingly proved to be extremely difficult when one of our volunteers attempted it! These experiences helped our new volunteers to better understand the way of life in Huacahuasi.
In the evening, we hosted a discussion circle with the women of Huacahuasi. The women shared stories of pain and empowerment. Women spoke about the pain of needing to choose between giving birth safely at a clinic and leaving their other children behind at home. They also shared stories of progress and the access to fresh produce that they now have due to the construction of three community greenhouses that SPP, Andean Community Partners, and the community helped finish this past year. The women’s discussion circle highlighted how important the work of SPP is not only in increasing healthcare access, but empowering local community members.
Day 4: Work & Play
Our fourth day of the trip was a packed one! We began with dental hygiene programming for the schools. It was an especially important program given the limited awareness and elevated levels of dental decay in the community. When asked if any of the children had ever suffered from a toothache, everyone raised their hand. One child shared that a parent poured kerosene in their mouth to address their toothache. These stories further demonstrate the need for a health clinic in Huacahuasi, which can ensure children won’t have to suffer from toothaches and community members will have better support for their basic healthcare needs.
We also headed to the Huacahuasi greenhouses to meet with John from Andean Community Partners and the community members who have been cultivating the greenhouses. We collected feedback on the project to identify strengths and areas for growth (no pun intended)! We ended Day 4 with a community-wide soccer game. This created an opportunity for connection where language faltered, helping to foster trust between our team and members of the community.
Day 5: Barriers & Opportunities in Huacahuasi Healthcare
Our last full day in Huacahuasi began with a hike that most of our participants were doing for the first, and perhaps only, time. This is not the case for community members; the trek represents the only route to the nearest health clinic, a two and a half hour walk away through the Andes mountains. Check out our reel on Instagram documenting this experience to learn more about geographic barriers to healthcare in Huacahuasi.
After returning from the clinic, we held a Lucky Iron Fish cooking class and distributed the materials to community members. Lucky Iron Fish are a cooking tool used to incorporate more iron into meals, a key goal in Huacahuasi where anemia rates are high. Following the cooking class, we had the opportunity to see a wool dying demonstration from the women of Huacahuasi, which was followed by an artisan craft fair. We purchased over 30 community weavings, which will be available soon on our website! Please consider purchasing one of the weavings; our approach to healthcare incorporates not only physical health, but financial health as well. Your support helps us uplift and economically empower the women of Huacahuasi.
Day 6: Final Farewell
Our last day in Peru was split: half the group visited Machu Picchu, and the other half returned to Cusco. As we revisited familiar sites or explored new ones, we reflected upon our time spent connecting with the community of Huacahuasi. During our trip, we witnessed continued barriers to accessing healthcare, such as widespread rates of anemia and the impossible choices women of the community must make when seeking care. We also witnessed innovation, empowerment, and continuous resilience in the face of factors that make living in Huacahuasi both challenging and incredibly special.
We are so grateful to everyone who made this trip possible. Over the course of our visits to Huacauasi, and in collaboration with community partners, we have built three greenhouses, received assurance of administrative support for a clinic from the Ministry of Health, empowered the women of Huacahuasi to lead their own initiative, and so much more. We could not have made this progress without your aid, and your continued support is more important now than ever. Help us continue our important mission of holistically bridging healthcare in Huacahuasi.
Visual Narratives of Huacahuasi — Stay Tuned!
Every time we return to Huacahuasi, we are reminded how healthcare barriers influence more than just physical well-being; they shape the future of a community.
The experiences shared by the women and children of Huacahuasi have more than demonstrated the widespread impact of healthcare limitations. But don’t take our word for it. Stay tuned for Sisters Project Peru’s first ever video series on the Huacahuasi community. In the meantime, visit our Instagram to see more footage from our time in Peru this August.
