More than 30 years ago, Andean women who had endured generations of abuse, discrimination, violence, and a lack of opportunities began to organize to support one another. They decided to travel from community to community, creating safe spaces for gathering, listening, and collective healing, where women could share their experiences and knowledge and strengthen their voices.
In those early women’s circles, ancestral practices related to women’s health and well-being were revived: herbal sitz baths, the preparation of natural ointments, traditional healing, healthy eating, community cooking, and the exchange of recipes and knowledge passed down through generations. They were also spaces for conversation, emotional support, and spiritual strengthening.
These gatherings gave rise to a community movement rooted in solidarity, ancestral memory, and the defense of indigenous women’s dignity. Over time, this initiative led to the creation of Warmikunaq Rimaynin, a program that continues to empower indigenous girls and women through education, leadership, cultural revitalization, and the building of more just and equitable communities.
Through women’s circles and ongoing workshops at the Kusi Kawsay School, the Kusi Ñan project, and the cultural programs of Ñawpa Ñan, Warmikunaq Rimaynin reaches schools, communities, and international groups leading processes of healing and learning in:
Sovereignty and Health: We promote holistic well-being through the Allin Kawsay program, strengthening food sovereignty and the physical, emotional, and spiritual health of children, youth, and their communities. The program integrates ancestral knowledge with contemporary approaches to nutrition, natural medicine, mental health, and sexual and reproductive health.
Through participatory workshops aimed at students, parents, and communities in various schools across the region, we create spaces for learning, prevention, care, and intercultural dialogue. These initiatives reinforce healthy habits, self-care, respect for the body, and a connection to the land, helping to build more conscious, healthy, and resilient communities.
Gender Equity and Educational Accompaniment: Through an intercultural gender curriculum developed together with allied organizations and adapted to the Andean context, Warmikunaq Rimaynin addresses issues such as gender-based violence, self-esteem, leadership, migration, child protection, comprehensive sexual education, and girls’ rights. Teachers and mentors accompany girls throughout their educational journey, supporting them emotionally, socially, and academically to ensure they remain in school and complete their studies.
The program creates safe spaces where girls can openly discuss challenges affecting their lives, strengthen their confidence, and develop the tools to make informed decisions about their futures. This ongoing accompaniment has helped many girls continue their education despite economic hardship, family violence, early pregnancy risks, discrimination, and social pressures that often lead Indigenous girls to abandon school prematurely.
Leadership and Creativity: We promote the development of indigenous women leaders through spaces where art, creativity, and collective expression become tools for social transformation. Through community filmmaking, murals, land art, photography, music, and other artistic expressions, children and youth from our schools and other schools and communities develop their voices, build their self-esteem, and learn to freely and consciously express their stories, emotions, and cultural identity.
These creative experiences foster leadership, critical thinking, and community participation, enabling new generations to recognize themselves as agents of change capable of defending their rights, valuing their roots, and building new narratives for their communities.
Healing and Intergenerational Transmission: Indigenous women are guardians of ancestral knowledge that has been passed down from generation to generation through storytelling, caregiving, natural medicine, art, and Andean spirituality. At Warmikunaq Rimaynin, their presence takes center stage: they accompany girls and young women, sharing knowledge about health, identity, territory, weaving, singing, medicinal plants, and ceremonial practices that strengthen their connection to their roots.
By valuing the voices and experiences of older women, we recognize the profound contribution of indigenous elders as educators, protectors of life, and models of community leadership. In this way, ancestral knowledge remains alive, adapting to the present and guiding new generations toward a future marked by identity, dignity, and respect for Andean culture.
Meet Indigenous Women of Wisdom and learn about their projects:
Music Production and Collective Memory: Music serves as a tool for memory, resistance, and healing within Warmikunaq Rimaynin. We collect and create songs that shed light on the historical persecution of Indigenous women, denounce violence against bodies and territories, and strengthen the sacred bond with Mother Earth. Through collective singing, women transform their experiences into messages of awareness, dignity, and hope.
Twice a week, singing rehearsals are held where women of different generations come together to share their voices, emotions, and creative processes. These gatherings strengthen sisterhood and help keep the Andean oral tradition alive while creating new compositions from a contemporary and community-centered perspective.
Awareness Campaigns: We create campaigns that aim to transform the social reality of women, confronting gender issues at their roots with the goal of turning each community into a fair and safe territory. One example of this is: #WarmallanAmaraqMamaqa, where under the slogan “Girls, Not Mothers,” we work to eliminate stigmas and ensure comprehensive sexual education based on autonomy, prevention, and social justice.
Participation in international events: This year 2026, Inti Raymi —our most emblematic international gathering of indigenous nations— will feature an unprecedented female presence. Twelve women leaders from Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, and the United States will take on the role of special presenters, placing ancestral wisdom at the center of the global dialogue.
