Indira Huacchaca

Peruvian educator who created the first Quechua-language school system

Indira Huacchaca (1925–2007) was a pioneering educator from the Andean region of Peru who transformed indigenous education through her creation of the Chinchero Bilingual School Network. Born in Cusco to Quechua-speaking farmers, she witnessed the systemic discrimination against indigenous students in Spanish-only schools. In 1958, she founded the first school teaching in both Quechua and Spanish, later expanding to 12 schools across the Sacred Valley.

Her innovative Andean Pedagogy model integrated traditional knowledge with modern curricula, including agricultural science based on ancestral farming techniques. Huacchaca developed the first Quechua alphabet book (1965) and created the UNESCO-endorsed bilingual teacher training program. She also established the Camino de los Saberes (Path of Knowledge) initiative (1972), which used mobile schools to reach remote mountain communities.

Her work inspired Peru's 1993 Bilingual Intercultural Education Law, now a model for Latin American nations. Huacchaca received the Right Livelihood Award (1995) and her legacy is preserved in the Indira Huacchaca Cultural Center in Cusco. Over 50,000 students have graduated from her system, maintaining Quechua as a living language in 14 Peruvian provinces.