There are several native communities close to Yarinacocha. These can be visited and give a good idea of how indigenous villages are in modern Peru. It is unlikely that there will be lot of grass skirts and dancing for tourists, similar to the shows put on for tourists in Iquitos, although people are open and friendly. These villages are renowned for their crafts, and there are shops selling them in the villages, although prices do not vary significantly from those given by the natives selling products in Iquitos and Yarinacocha. The native communities around Pucallpa are the Ashaninka, the Cashinahua, the Sharanahua and the Shipibo-Conibo.
The most visited village is San Francisco, a relatively large place with many stalls selling crafts. Quieter is Santa Clara, a traditional, friendly village, also with several craft shops. Nuevo Chicago, a ?suburb? of Santa Clara, is a very friendly collection of half-a-dozen huts, with a lively festival on July 21 ?23. Nuevo Destino, further from Puerto Callao, is the largest of the traditional villages.
There are plenty of colectivos from Puerto Callao to the villages. A colectivo to San Francisco costs about $0.60 and takes 30 minutes. Santa Clara is 5 minutes further.
The Summer Institute of Linguistics (SIL) can be found on the shores of Yarinacocha. This US-based missionary organisation is dedicated to working with native communities to develop written forms of spoken languages. Dozens of languages are spoken in the Peruvian jungle, most of which have never been written down. Therefore, the SIL works with locals from each community to develop written forms of different languages, with the ultimate aim of translating the bible into each language. The institute has many critics, including the Peruvian novelist Mario Vargas Llosa, who claimed in his novel The Storyteller that the work is destroying the way of life of indigenous people. However, it should be kept in mind that there are very few communities that are untouched by the modern world, and most are in contact with the rest of Peru. The Peruvian government has a commitment even with remote communities to provide education, and the SIL aids significantly in the development of these communities. It is possible to visit the institute, although only with a prior appointment.
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