2015 – Year in Review
Strengthening Community Ties
Although Threads of Peru’s primary goal is to provide opportunities for the artisans in these Andean communities to earn income in a way that allows them to maintain their traditional lifestyle as well as reinvigorate the Quechua weaving tradition, our relationship with the communities is not purely a business one and we enjoy taking the opportunity to give back to the communities.
Giving fresh fruit to the children of Chaullaqocha
Since 2010 Threads has been coordinating a monthly donation by Reach Out Children’s Fund. Every two months, we take over 180 kg of quinoa, rice, lentils, flour and cooking oil, as well as boxes of powdered milk, tuna, and fruit to the community of Chaullaqocha to provide school lunches for the children.
In July, Rumira Sondormayo celebrated their 17th Anniversary! We were honored to receive an invitation to the event, where we contributed prizes of rice and sugar for the weaving and spinning competitions that were part of the day’s activities. Read more about this event here http://threadsofperu.org/celebrating-17-years-andean-style/
Every Christmas, Threads of Peru also teams up with Apus Peru Adventure Travel Specialists to celebrate the traditional Peruvian Christmas chocolatada in the communities. In addition to steaming cups of hot chocolate and treats, we give out gifts of clothing and toys to the children, including jackets, sweaters and winter hats. It’s always a fun day full of laughter and Christmas spirit!
The yearly Christmas Chocolatada- great fun for all!
The Year Ahead
So what’s on the horizon for Threads in 2016? We are certainly not slowing down! Now that Lourdes has more than six months under her belt getting to know the weavers, we are planning to increase our community engagement throughout the year.
Building on the research conducted in late 2014 by Monitoring and Evaluation intern Harrison Ackerman, Lourdes has already completed an assessment of each community’s strengths and weaknesses, and the next step is to discuss what their priorities are in terms of skill development. We can then begin developing new targeted workshops to implement, ensuring that what we do is effective and meets the weavers’ needs and desires as artisans and entrepreneurs! We look forward to sharing more news of these initiatives throughout the year.
We are also excited to be a part of New York Now at the end of this month! Anyone in the New York area should come check us out in the Artisan Resource section between Jan 31 and Feb 3! (http://www.nynow.com/).
Happy 2016!