Story telling takes many forms

For me, it moves through photography, through poetry, through stories, and through the ancient flow of memory.

Daughter of the Andes. Mother. Keeper of soul songs. Immigrant bird — gliding between worlds, finding her way

Roots & Biography

I was born in Cusco, beneath starfull skies, and grew up in the Sacred Valley of the Inkas, in the village of Yucay, where the Andean mountains speak in the ancient language of beauty and silence. There, the great river Wilkanota — or Vilcanota, as some call her — braided its silver waters through the land, carrying with it the stories of my ancestors.

This river is not only a place upon a map; it is the bloodline of my family, the pulse that runs beneath my skin. My surname, Vilca — once Wilka — binds me to this sacred waterway and to the ancient Wilka tree, a living vessel of healing and ceremony in the Andean world. Its leaves and roots remember things that books cannot teach.

At heart, I walk the path between worlds. One foot rests in the wisdom of the Quechua I carry — whispered through my childhood memories — the other steps through modern landscapes where stories take new forms. These are the treasures I packed within my soul when I left Peru for Scotland nearly eighteen years ago: a bundle of memory, mountains, and the quiet knowing that I would

always belong to both here and there.

And so they shape my work still — like invisible threads woven through everything I do.

Work & Purpose

I am a Creative Community Practitioner, Project Manager, storyteller, and photographer, with a deep focus on climate justice and democratic processes.

I have worked with NESCAN (North East Scotland Climate Action Network) on the Just Transition Communities Project, engaging communities across Aberdeen city, Aberdeenshire, and beyond.

My work is grounded in place-based community engagement — in the quiet art of making space where stories and voices, too often unseen or unheard, may rise.

I am inspired by the wisdom of Peruvian writers and thinkers — such as José María Arguedas and the living traditions of Andean community assemblies — who teach us that assemblies are not only spaces of governance, but rituals of communal weaving, where land and people speak together.

In this spirit, I bring to my work an approach shaped by Indigenous environmental justice, where democracy must honour not only the voices of people, but also the voice of place itself.

I ask: How will rivers be heard? How will mountains, forests, and winds be welcomed into our democratic imagination?

For I believe that a truly just transition must include all who belong to the land — seen and unseen, spoken and unspoken.

And so, with camera in hand and words as offerings, I seek to honour both the voices of people and the silent wisdom of the land — to tell stories where all beings might be heard.

Professional Background

I hold a background in:

• Law (San Antonio Abad del Cusco University, Peru)
• Master in International Business

Professional experience across:

• the oil & gas sector in Aberdeen
• the heritage sector (National Galleries of Scotland)
• climate justice and community development

Through this diverse path, I have learned to move between systems and stories — always seeking the human heart of the work.

Storytelling & Creative Practice

Through my images and words, I honour personal and collective narratives — a practice of resistance, and healing.

Through my photography, I seek to explore themes such as:

• Women’s relationships with nature
• Participatory storytelling within communities
• Dreams and sacred symbolism
• My Andean roots and Quechua worldview

Each image, each story, is a thread— a bridge between worlds, where memory, and belonging intertwine.

For I believe that in every face, every tree, every river, there lives a story waiting to be seen — and remembered.

Recent work includes contributing to the growth of We Are Nature Collective — an emerging grassroots collective of women driving climate action within our communities.

Together, we seek to weave nature, story, and belonging — co-creating spaces where women’s voices, ancestral wisdom, and the living world may meet in dialogue and action.

Through this shared work, I continue to explore how participatory storytelling, creative practice, and community engagement can nurture both personal healing and collective transformation.

It is within these circles of women, through the land beneath our feet, that my lens and my words find new purpose — as humble gestures of reverence and resistance, in service of a more just, more beautiful world.

And so, with camera in hand and words shaped by remembrance, I seek to honour both the voices of people and the silent wisdom of the land — to tell stories where all beings might be heard.