Quechua

• Photographer
  Shyamala Thilagaratnam

It was a privilege to spend some time with a Quechua family in Peru’s mountainous Pampallacta region. Most are farmers, spending much time outdoors in harsh conditions. Women constantly spin wool, even as they walk up & down steep mountain paths, children on their back; their products are then sold at the Sunday market.The children are a happy lot, & in soccer-mad Peru, school breaks means soccer time. It's sad to think that while the word 'Quechua' is quite well known, it's more on account of its being a sporting apparel brand rather than in association with these wonderful Andean people.