The Yurac Yacu Community Development Center houses educational rooms and small community businesses that generate income for local families and help fund ongoing education and skills training programs for local residents in Huaraz, Peru.
The Andean Alliance founded the Yurac Yacu Community Center in 2013 with it's mission to unite our local community in a shared community center in Huaraz, Peru.
Providing an opportunity to learn to run a micro business, local employment, purchases, use of organic greenhouse produce, refine cooking skills and profits used to support the early childhood program are all the reasons why Café Yurac Yacu was started in 2013. A small business housed in the Yurac Yacu community center, it employs 6 women and is open seasonally from June through September when tourism is it at its peak. Drawing from people’s desire for experiential tourism and a need to acclimatize, a small but tasteful, healthful menu is provided while sitting in a spectacular outdoor setting and having direct contact with the local community in Huaraz, Peru.
Women are the backbone of the Andean Cultures. Nevertheless, they are also the most marginalized when it comes to access to education, healthcare, income generation and social contacts. The Club de Mujers de Yurac Yacu, here in Huaraz, Peru, was formed in 2014 with the aim at addressing all of the above. A social group of 12 – 16 women, they have learned and improved upon their knitting skills by using handspun wool, natural dyes to create unique and artistic products. With assistance from Andean Alliance the group has learned to organize themselves, to be officially registered as artisans, marketing, quality control and to help each other to learn. Their weekly meetings provide a safe basis for them to share life events, ideas and conflicts, look for solutions and futuristic planning.
We believe in providing the opportunity for the local pre-school children in Huaraz, Peru to develop a strong skill base to use when entering first grade. By using practical concepts such as problem solving, risk taking, investigating, creativity, responsibility, decision making while learning the basics of math, communication, science/investigation, play, music, art they build upon these skills to be stronger and more independent students. As the program is based on using what we learn rather than abstract paper based learning children gain confidence in themselves, they learn to question and take risks when in school with minimal fear of failure. These children are our future leaders and they need to know that they make a difference.
