Historia básica

La alfarería tradicional de la región se basa en la conocida y difundida técnica de los rollos de barro, que se superponen y alisan para dar forma a platos con diferentes propósitos.

Las alfarerías tradicionales combinan magistralmente tres colores básicos: blanco, negro y rojo. Esta combinación es el resultado de un largo proceso de intercambio cultural desde la época prehispánica.

La arcilla utilizada como base procede de canteras de  la zona. Se amasa intensamente con los pies, especialmente con los talones, hasta añadir el shaño, elaborado con fragmentos de platos quemados y molidos, para evitar que se agriete durante la cocción. 

El horno tradicional es abierto, con leña apilada como combustible. Esta es una técnica casi universal en el Amazonas, llamada shuntu.  Para finalizar, inmediatamente después de la quema se aplican dos productos: la resina de copal y el “lacre”, una laca natural. El primero impermeabiliza el interior del plato y el segundo da brillo al exterior y protege la pintura.  

Included in the Basic Residency

Indigenous Ceramics Class in chunchiwi

This immersive ceramics experience begins with a one- to two-hour hike to the indigenous Kechwa community of Chunchiwi, offering a rare opportunity to learn directly from a local artisan where traditional knowledge is still practiced.

artists will take part in a hands-on ceramics class led by a Kechwa potter, learning the traditional coil (rolled clay) method. You will create a basic ceramic bowl and decorate your piece using naturally colored clay.

The process includes participating in a traditional Shuntu firing—an open-fire technique passed down through generations.

Class details:

• One- to two-hour hike to the Chunchiwi community

• Traditional ceramics class using the coil method with a Kechwa artisan

• Create and paint a basic ceramic bowl using colored clay

• Participate in a traditional Shuntu firing

• Cost: 35 soles per class (paid directly to the artisan)

Sachaqa is located near several indigenous Kechwa villages, where ancestral practices continue, though they are becoming increasingly rare. Trina shares these traditions with great care and respect, supporting cultural preservation while helping participants reconnect with the natural world through art.

Traditionally, clay is kneaded by foot and mixed with shaño—a powder made from previously fired pots (grog). Once dried, the vessels are fired using the Shuntu open-fire process.

The return walk from the community offers sweeping views of the landscape. Along the way, participants can collect natural pigments, forming a palette of reds, oranges, yellows, greens, and browns drawn directly from the surrounding environment.

Artists will also have the opportunity to collect clay within the village of Chunchiwi and grind shañu (fired pots crushed into powder). Petrona, a Kechwa artisan who lives near the village of San Roque, will guide us to local clay sources and demonstrate how to grind the shanu by hand using a large stone before mixing it into the clay.