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The enchanted places of Lake Titicaca

October 8^th, 2019

There are enchanted places on Lake Titicaca. Where peace permeates the air when you’re alone with your boat, only you and the lake and nature. Surrounded by birds, the wind blows and the sun shines, and there’s no one around. Stories are told of mermaids and other mirages in the water’s reflection; stories of how you can hear things you never see. In the middle of Lake Titicaca, totora reeds grow, and islands float in crystal water.

It’s been two years since over 40 people of the Chimu community in Puno, Peru, decided to pursue the dream of building a floating island. Eighteen months went by with the team experiencing little success. Nonetheless, Enrique Cuno Canqui persevered. Today, the families left on the island, Balsero Chimu, dream of making their home a booming tourist attraction.

Now the dream has come true. The Chimu are building a bridge between their traditional culture and tourists. With the technical support of the Qhapaq Ñan project, a tri-national effort implemented in Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia by UNDP, and with financing from the Italian Agency of Cooperation for Development, Balsero Chimu and its guardians are working to strengthen the venture.

A condor welcomes visitors atop a viewing platform. It is made entirely out of totora, like the houses, boats and the floor of the island we’re walking on. “I don’t know what would’ve happened to us without totora,” says Enrique as he demonstrates the process through which Balsero Chimu was built. It starts at the root of the totora, which tangles below the water and floats up to the surface of the lake, then blocks made with the root are tied together with wire and string and are fixed to the bottom of the lake. He points out a totora house and boat. Behind him, we can see his wife Angélica Panca making totora crafts outside their house.

As a child Enrique watched his father make kesanas, traditional totora mattresses, and Angélica grazed her family’s livestock at the edge of the lake. Now they’re managing the island and recognize it as an opportunity to get ahead. They are working towards new opportunities for their family and community, and the opportunity to showcase their culture and traditions.

It is also a chance to demonstrate sustainable tourism. Lake Titicaca benefits the more than three million people who live around it, and it has unique biodiversity; many different species of birds, fish, and amphibians rely on it to survive.

Families on the island take turns going out in a boat to collect plastic, bottles, and other trash. “We pick up garbage from the lake, we clean and then take it to firm land where the collector then picks it up,” says Angélica, know that that crystal clear water will attract more tourists.

Across the island is the Eco Artesanias de Totora Titikaka Association’s Interpretation Centre. Products made by the women in the Chimu community are displayed, as well as the history of the deep roots between totora and the Chimu culture. The association is made up of 18 people, mostly women, who keep alive the practice of weaving and the sustainable management of totora.

The women of Chimu have perfected their technique for years and now they’re branching out; before hey only knew how to make kesanas, they are now making other more decorative products.

“The hen is the hardest one to make,” laughs Angélica when asked about the products. She prefers to make bread baskets in different colors and sizes. When we get to the centre, we find to her pleasure that they have sold out.

The association has managed to improve and standardize the quality of their products and now they can start selling directly, which means more income.

“I’m a strong woman. I’m valuable. I can achieve the things I want, and I will do,” says Angélica. She’s teaching her daughter, Camila, and her nieces how to weave totora. She emphasizes the importance of teaching her traditions and techniques. “They can’t be lost,” she says, “If we lose them, who’s going to remember?”

Puno is the fourth most visited destination in Peru, and Lake Titicaca is its biggest appeal. Through tradition, culture, and connection with the environment, it represents an opportunity for the communities that live there to capitalize on their stories and share them with the world.

Enrique and Angélica hope to see the island as a mandatory tourist stop in Puno, one that will be different from the other floating islands. They want to make Balsero Chimu a place to really get to know the culture and tradition of the Chimu people.

Neither Angélica nor Enrique can imagine how their lives would be away from the island. “I will never be on dry land; I want to live here, on the lake. I feel calm in here,” Angélica says.

There are enchanted places in Lake Titicaca. When you’re in the totora and leave behind people and land. When anywhere you look there’s only water, never-ending, and the wind blows gently, making waves that tell stories with their sound.

“It’s got many memories,” Enrique says. “How many more are there still to make?”

Story: Daniella Toce, UNDP Peru; Photos: UNDP Peru/Giulianna Camarena

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