A. Our Place: Pueblo Vamoss
Those who get excited when the word “we” is mentioned, they know: This is Our Project.
During our time in the Sacred Valley since 2012, we had the chance to observe ourselves and the outside world without doing any promotional activities or wasting time on financial matters. This period has clearly shown us what kind of service we are providing here, what the visitors are looking for and what Peru means to us.
The travel groups formed thanks to the suggestions of the visitors and always crowded Vamoss Home always flowed like water. We have had the luxury of being able to move forward with our professional stance, being aware of what we serve and produce.
Vamoss worked for 7 years without breaking its line and eventually acquired the land on which we are building our village.
We learn, we make art and agriculture, we produce, we share and we do all this with the intention of healing.
We are here as those who want to make, not just talk. Here we believe in the healing power of intention, focusing, eating good, producing in an organized way, being together, holding a circle, learning, serving, nature and art.
Here is Pueblo Vamoss!
1. General
a. Preface
Vamoss Experience now is bringing us together in an environment to produce, work, rest, learn and heal. It is a love-oriented space and communion, located in a vibrant corner of Sacred Valley, Peru.
With the intention to serve the good of the whole; we started this project from our hearts with excitement, happiness, faith and will. We worked on every detail of it until it was ready to present to you. We hope to bring it to life together with you.
For looking back one day with our children and grandchildren and say ‘I am glad we did this!’
With love…
b. A Story
Once upon a time—long ago, in an ancient age—there lived a highly conscious, love-centered society. They honored the spirit of all existence, and they knew the Earth as Mother. But events unfolded in such a way that they—and their children—were struck by an illness of forgetting that would last for thousands of years. The more they forgot, the farther they drifted from Love; the farther they drifted, the rougher they became; the rougher they became, the more selfish they grew. And the world’s water and air were poisoned; its soils grew tired and dry.
…and for thousands of years, events continued to unfold in such a way that people began to wake up, to remember. They started to long for the sacred ways of living they once knew in the distant past. That longing became a fire, burning in every direction across the world—and wherever it burned, people formed circles and sat hand in hand. They set their intention once again: to live by honoring one another, and the spirit of all existence.
Small communities—rooted in Love—began creating spaces for living and sharing. Their transforming actions became visible to the minds, hearts, and eyes of those who were still in forgetting. And in them too, a desire to change and to transform was born.
This is the kind of community and living space we wish to build—one that serves the good of the whole.
c. With What Intention?
- Vamoss does not take on a mission beyond being a meeting point held in trust and love, and creating space for production and sharing.
- The space we hold together with this intention exists to support experience.
- To protect this quality, Vamoss asks for deep respect from every intermediary it touches: the food we eat, the water we drink, the plants and animals we are in relationship with; the mountains and local people who hold this land; the Sacred Valley; the medicines; fire, water, air, earth; and all spirits and connections—each is met first with respect and gratitude.
- As you can see, Vamoss is not intending to become rigid or prohibitive; its intention is to guide each person toward taking responsibility for the moment they are in.
- We do not believe an activity or a thing is inherently right or wrong, good or bad. What matters is not the act itself, but our intention—and the state we are in while doing it.
We also see that, since 2012, a beautiful circle around Vamoss has been steadily growing.
- We want to bring everyone who carries this intention together—carefully, and in an organized way.
- We are building a living space that can keep walking on its own, without depending on particular individuals.
- Our center is here, in the Sacred Valley—grounded, safe, and steady.
- We say: “There should be a place for us, for our extended circle, for our children.”
- We are on the road. We are moving forward.
d. Now Is Exactly the Time
We believe the time has come to realize the dreams we have long carried.
- A time to trust life more, and to take new, unfamiliar steps.
- A time to accept what has been, to notice what is, and to give what could be a real chance.
- A time to move.
- A time to set stagnant, blocked energy back into motion.
- A time to make our energy functional—usable, embodied.
- A time to transform, and to be transformed.
- Yes, this era is difficult in certain ways; but we have always been people of good intention—people who do not avoid taking responsibility for the heart. Now is the time to come alive again.
- And for years, together with those who have come through Vamoss, we kept returning to the same shared intention: to help Vamoss find its place—its home—and to build it.
- We used to say: may Vamoss always be in growth; may it never stop; may it keep working, producing, and beautifying—developing its own living space as it goes.
2. The Land and Our Project
a. Details About the Land
- The land is 4,400 m².
- It has three distinct levels (terraces).
- It has its own shape and character, with different pockets that each offer a different kind of beauty.
- Along two of its boundaries, there are water channels, and a stream passes nearby (about 20 meters away).
- Along the edges there are many plants and cacti, and many trees in the surrounding area.
- Inside the land there is a wild rose tree large enough for 4–5 people to stand beneath.
- At the very center stands a local sacred tree called quishuar—known as “the guardian of the traveler.”
- (Buddleja incana; also known as kiswar / quishuar)
- The view is beautiful in all four directions, each with its own feel.
- We are outside the crowds of Pisac and Cusco, but not far from them.
- The area around us is open and quiet.
- The soil itself is fertile, and—thankfully—we have water.
b. Construction
The infrastructure for the 2nd and 3rd terraces of our land is ready. We have water coming from the waterfall, electricity from a private grid, a biodigester septic system, an internet connection, and access to the dirt road that leads to the village.
Two houses with three rooms each are complete. One of them serves my family (Arda) as our family home. The other, although it was not built with that intention, operates as the Vamoss Home. We have harvested our first produce from the garden. We also have one covered gathering area and a workshop that we use mostly as a carpentry space and storage.
Our current plans include the following:
- Electricity and a biodigester system for the first terrace,
- A school for our children with capacity for 7–8 students,
- A children’s garden/play area, landscaping, and a greenhouse,
- Four mini triangular rooms,
- A gathering space that will also function as a kitchen and dining hall (the mezzanine will be used as an office for desk work),
- Five retreat cabins with a wood stove, bathroom, and a small kitchen,
- A simple fence and entrance gate,
- A circle space,
- A new Vamoss Home (shared house),
- A volunteer house (for young people and travelers),
- A workshop space where guests can produce/make things,
- A focus room (meditation, prayer, massage, seclusion, etc.),
- A two-person healing bath.
c. Architectural Plans
These architectural plans were drawn by our architect friend Soner Gobel, who volunteered in Vamoss for more than six months.
a. Meeting Point
This is the meeting point of the whole place. Here, we’ll cook, play, sing, eat, and talk—together. Our gathering space sits between two shared houses, with passageways to both. Right at its heart—exactly in the middle of the front garden—there’s a fire pit.
It’s glazed on both sides along an east–west axis. Inside, we have a generous open kitchen with a pantry/storage room; every meal across the site will come out of here. In the kitchen, there will be an earthen oven.
The glass panels on the roof flood the interior with daylight while also warming the space. In one corner, a modest raised platform hints at what’s to come—we can already imagine the days we’ll sit there, making music and practicing together.
b. Travellers’ House
Some of the people who come to Vamoss are travellers—young and old alike—who have taken to the road, moving across the continent (or the world) through volunteering. While we’ve always shared and maintained our common spaces together (except for those who prefer to stay without contributing), those staying as volunteers naturally take extra initiative around the gardens, shopping, cleaning, and organizing meals.
This house has two floors, and with six bunk-bed sets it offers a total capacity of 18 beds. It also has two bathrooms. Designed primarily for travellers, younger guests, and volunteers, the Travellers’ House is located at the entrance of our land. The pantry/storage for the kitchen in the common area is also in this house.
c. Vamoss Home
This is the home for those who come to the Sacred Valley not only to visit, but also to taste communal life. Filled with light, the house looks out both onto the small valley stretching behind us and Pachatusan rising directly in front of us.
With its round bathrooms and its sweet, welcoming rooms, this will be our new home. The rooms are comfortable—two of them with private bathrooms—and each one opens to views of the Sacred Valley. Our house will also have a small shared sitting area: another beautiful corner where we’ll watch the mountains through glass, and where simple seating warms up around a basic rocket stove. We’ll move our library here as well. And from right beside the library, we can pass straight through into the Common Area.
d. The Circle Space
With its circular shape, this space is envisioned for any circle-based practice held with an intention of love and care: group meditations, sema ceremonies, yoga/qigong and similar disciplines, collective massage sessions, trainings, making music, whirling—anything that gathers us in a shared field.
We want the roof to be made from paja, a local plant from this region that keeps the rain out. Our Circle Space is, in many ways, the heart of Vamoss: open to light from all four directions and held by a powerful mountain view—meant to light our path, ground us, and keep us connected to the earth.
e. The Healing Bath
Through what we’ve learned in the mountains, we’ve seen how deeply body cleansing supports mental clarity. This space exists so we can bathe well, with care and intention. With two tubs we can fill, we’ll cleanse with salt, soften with oils, and return to ourselves with incense.
As in the retreat houses, we’ll also have a small sound system we can plug into easily. In a room warmed by a wood stove—scented with eucalyptus—we’ll bathe with flowers, in the shadow of the mountains.
f. The Focus Room
This space sits half a level below ground—half above the earth and half within it. It is built entirely of stone. It receives daylight from all directions, just enough to keep the interior softly dim.
It is designed for work that needs privacy and concentration: massage; individual or couple-based energy work; meditation; prayer; energy-clearing practices (with music, stones, and more); and short periods of quiet retreat—any practice that calls for an enclosed, held space.
g. Personal Houses
We’ve reserved an area for families—ideally with children—who will spend at least six months of the year in the village, take responsibility, and help hold the place. Here you see an example of a home that could be built. The house is 57 m² and has two levels, with a mezzanine-style upper floor.
Downstairs, there is a living room, bathroom, kitchen, and a double bedroom. Upstairs, there are two single bedrooms and one bathroom. Designed for four people, this home can host up to six if someone also sleeps in the living room. When your loved ones visit, they can stay here—or, if you wish, it can be rented out through us to guests coming to the valley and to Vamoss.
One private home has already been completed and is currently serving as the Vamoss Home.
h. Retreat Houses
On the third tier of the land, the retreat houses offer a quiet, grounded, powerful space to those who come because they need it—perhaps to write a book, perhaps to pause and look deeply inward, perhaps to find their purpose and plan what comes next.
We chose the third tier for the retreat houses very intentionally: standing there, looking out over the valley and the mountains, we feel a centering, grounding, restorative healing force.
We designed these units with a veranda in front, a bathroom inside, and sleeping lofts above. Three of our retreat houses are circular, and three are triangular—each accommodating two to four people.
i. We Plant Seeds
- Taking such a step is, in many ways, choosing to become grounded—and stepping into a responsibility whose outcomes we will begin living immediately. At this point, our relationship with the land—our greatest teacher—takes on a special importance. Pachamama (Mother Earth) is also the most generous giver.
- We have identified the areas where we can grow food on the land. From here on, as always, what unfolds will be shaped by the initiative of those who are here. We believe that a shared effort—organized collectively by everyone living on-site at that time—will be good for all of us.
- And beyond the land’s generosity, the Sacred Valley is named for its abundance. In that sense, we are already in a very good place.
j. Our Land and Construction
- We want to create an entirely natural space.
- In construction, we will use earth, wood, reeds, stone, and glass.
- We want to bring together the materials used historically in this geography, a simple and functional architectural approach, and our care and attention to detail.
- We will carry out the building process with guidance from people who have experience in this work.
- We know we can create something wonderful together.
- Natural building can move very quickly.
- We welcome everyone who wants to come and support.
3. Our Circle Ethos
Anyone who has tasted it—even once—knows that life truly comes alive not when we are “on our own,” but when we are “together.” We’ve learned it here, and we’re still learning: being together, moving together, is something deeply beautiful.
So we chose to walk from “we,” we trusted “we,” and we took this step.
Life is beautiful when it’s shared—not only when someone sneezes, but always: “All together!”
The Vamoss Circle / Family / Tribe:
- aims to be connected without becoming attached or dependent.
- honours the presence and path of every circle.
- believes that every circle we belong to deserves our love, respect, and care.
- tries not to forget that each of us—by name and by body—is temporary.
- believes that all the beauty lived here exists thanks to everything it is in relationship with, whether that relationship is visible or not.
- feels, in the end, that the circle we belong to is ultimately one.
- hopes to be an example of a good circle, and to help bring even more beautiful circles into being.
In the region where our land is, there is almost no one—neither local nor foreign. We are in the middle of the fields. On one side, there are very few houses for 2–3 km; on the other, for nearly 10 km. Over the last 1–2 years, some of our beloved friends—close friends included—have been looking for land nearby and settling around us; and as more people move here, we’re slowly becoming a larger community.
4. Our Bond with the Local Indigenous Community
Back in its former home in Calca, the Vamoss Home was part of an Indigenous community called Juqui. During that time, we had the chance to observe—up close—how we might live alongside local people: what we can do together without harming their culture, and what we might teach one another.
In this region of Peru, Indigenous people live in community-based units. These communities, usually made up of 50–100 households, have monthly and annual collective responsibilities. In our new location, we have now become part of the Chuecamayo community of San Salvador. This community is blessed with crystal-clear water flowing from the valley right behind us. For example, to maintain the water channel, we are required to clean it together with the community for two days each year—otherwise, we pay a penalty. In the same spirit, we attend community meetings and take part in decision-making processes.
Neighborliness matters deeply to us. In that sense, it feels genuinely good to carry our share of responsibilities and to be in an ongoing exchange with the community. We hope we will always remain in a beautiful relationship with the local community.
In fact, after many years, the community here remembered an old tradition: they set an intention to go up to the lake at the mountain peaks—where our water comes from—and hold an offering ceremony. They kindly felt it should be us. I thanked them sincerely, but said it would be more appropriate for the ceremony to be led by someone Indigenous, and I invited a Q’ero shaman I love and trust. After the first ceremony we held together—with 250 community members—our bond grew much stronger. Now, every year, with our support as well, a truly beautiful ceremony takes place.
Please, in your own relationships with Indigenous communities, be attentive and careful. Mutual respect is, without doubt, one of the virtues we need most.