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Calca is located at about 45 minutes from Cusco City.
Here, we still breath that fresh air of a tranquil and calm town,
far away from that commercial and touristy shuffling of the Imperial City.
This place has become the first safe haven for Miki Carpio,
a young business administrator who one day left his career to realize his dream:
to create a business in the serenity of the Incan lands.
"Well, I’ve been doing this for about 2 and half years. I came here, and at first I put my eye in Cusco.
We had a family property that we restored and remodeled.
We advertised the property over the Internet and through our website, and we had great response."
His recollection of memories at his grandmother’s house in Cusco motivated that enchantment for Andean homes.
Starting this business, which he founded with his cousin who lives in the United States, was not an easy task.
This house in the heart of Calca is witness to that initial phase.
"This house, when we bought it, was in a catastrophic state.
No one would give a dime for this house, but I saw great potential in it.
As a matter of fact, I wanted to keep this house to open my own hotel.
I said, 'I want a hotel here because I’m in love with this place'.
But, because of our financial situation, we decided to sell it as a hotel.
So we repaired and remodeled the house.
Currently, it's owned by a French lady who works with a local man.
They opened their business here and they seem to be doing well."
"When we talked about marketing the homes, the only way to do this was through newspapers.
But I considered that the best tool at that moment was the Internet.
So we went to real estate websites from all over the world and advertised in them, then we built our own website.
Through our website we began to send out emails and our information all over the world, and we had great response."
The sale of this property took about 4 months over the Internet.
Internet was very slow in the area at that time. That was the main obstacle to communicate with potential clients abroad.
"People write from New Caledonia, South Africa, Qatar, and also, of course, from the United States and Europe where our strongest market is located."
"The majority of inquirers are retirees living in the United States and Europe who are worried about how expensive is to live there,
and that market seeks places like this. And the Sacred Valley is perfect for them because, look at the weather we have.
We have all these trees and forests, spectacular landscapes and views which is what they want, and that they can’t find in their countries."
So then, Miki began to understand that his clients, mostly European, preferred more than just tranquil places to live surrounded by nature.
He put his eye on the lands at the bottom of the Pitusiray and Sawasiray mountains,
and he began to design dream country homes with lavish yards, supplied with water that came directly from the snowcaps.
However, there was always a “but”: the lack of communication means in that area.
"In general, the people who write from abroad - because [internet] is widely available in their countries -
don’t ask about these services. I, just in case, reply and explain to them that we do have Internet access.
You can get connected to the Internet without any problems."
"The people who come to Cusco or to the Sacred Valley need to be connected.
So, in this case, Calca, this location, has internet access.
So then for example, one can be having a cup of coffee at night, use a laptop and be connected."
This is an obstacle that Miki has been able to surpass because Calca has also received the benefits of the Andean Fiber Optic.
Not just the town but also the surrounding villages now have high speed Internet access.
Just a month ago, the speed was 200KB. And today, it’s 2MB.
"Ink for textiles"
"Buy"
"When we are interconnected, growing is simple. Telefonica, delivering development and growth to more Peruvians."
This is only the first stage of a project of Telefonica, which amounts to 1.5 billion dollars and seeks the mass connection to the Internet.
This will be a network of a total 1,800Km of fiber optics that will cover the regions of Abancay, Andahuaylas,
Ayacucho, Huacavelica, Huanuco, Pucallpa, Tingo Maria, Tocache, Tarapoto and Yurimaguas, and will reach over 2 million Peruvians.
One of them is Abelarmino. Then, his daily 2-hour walk to school won’t be a constant sacrifice.
This technology will give him the knowledge and freedom to be himself so that he can reach his dreams and goals.