Threads of Peru Blog

As winter months are fast approaching the oversized scarf remerges as a fall fashion essential. Naturally dyed with cochineal and hand woven by artisan Virginia Medina Mamani, the Moray Alpaca Shawl makes the perfect fall accessory.

Tanja, our stunning model didn’t want to take the Moray Shawl off during our latest Threads of Peru photo shoot. The delicately hand spun soft baby alpaca yarn makes you feel like you never even left the comfort of your bed. Oversized is the way to go this season. You can wrap this shawl a million ways and its guaranteed to keep you completely cozy.

Shelayne, our current Threads of Peru Fashion Design Intern absolutely loves the Moray scarf. “The neutral greys make it easy to match, while magenta is a beautiful and refreshing pop of colour for a winter wardrobe.” The scarf is named after a stunning archeological site just west of the village of Maras. The Moray site shows incredible and stunning circular Incan archeological terraces.

When you buy from Threads of Peru your dollar directly supports indigenous artisans here in Peru and continues the tradition of ancient hand crafted techniques.

Where can I buy an Alpaca Shawl like this one?

Shop the look now: Moray Alpaca Shawl

Article by: Shelayne Mulholland

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An alpaca scarf is the perfect way to keep warm this fall!

Known as a luxury fiber, alpaca is warm, lightweight and durable which makes it long-wearing and practical in these scarves.

These handwoven 100% alpaca scarves are created by indigenous women living in the remote Andean villages, and yet their timeless charm are appropriate for any contemporary urban setting.  The two tone ‘striped’ scarf range provide neutral colors for unisex wear or a dash of pink for a feminine touch, a perfect addition to your fall accessory collection.   Color combinations include cognac & chestnut, lavender & charcoal, and Latte.

These scarves were woven on a backstrap loom using ancient Incan traditions and are fairly traded.

Visit the Threads of Peru website to make your purchase!

Where can I buy an alpaca scarf like this one?

Please visit the Threads of Peru website, you can buy the Cusco Latte alpaca scarf here.

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As a recently graduated student of Anthropology, Cusco called to Annie Marcinek as a mecca of sorts, a hub for seeing and learning before returning to the US for graduate school (a tentative plan). When the opportunity to jump aboard the Threads team as an Evaluation Research Intern presented itself to Annie through Dana Blair, a former peer at Penn State and current friend, Annie couldn’t imagine passing it up. As she finishes her third week here in the office in Cusco, it is clear how valuable this experience will prove in meshing her last few years of studying Sustainable Development and Anthropology at Penn State with her future scholarly and “real world” pursuits.

Annie and Harrison with the weavers from the community of Uppis. Photo by Annie Marcinek.

Throughout her last year at Penn State, Annie completed a thesis based off of fieldwork carried out in the community of Shiripuno, a small indigenous town in the Ecuadorian Amazon that had recently begun an ecotourism project run by a local women’s association. Throughout her fieldwork and subsequent literature review, Annie was able to connect the implementation of the women’s association (named Amukishmi) in Shiripuno with an increase in social capital throughout the community itself. Annie’s thesis research allowed her to delve further into the inner workings of sustainable development, especially regarding indigenous populations in South America. This, along with her enthusiasm for the Spanish language and curiosity about the country of Peru, brought her aboard this evaluation project for Threads of Peru.

Though it is quite some distance from Cusco, the spectacular view from Uppis is breathtaking. Photo by Annie Marcinek.

At the moment, Annie and her research partner Harrison Ackerman are finishing up the beginning stage of their project, which includes outlining the questions they will eventually ask to each weaver, along with traveling out to each of the five communities they will be working with (Uppis, Huaran, Tortora, Chaullacocha, and Rumira Sondormayo) in order to ask permission to conduct interviews in the coming weeks. So far, Annie and Harrison have received great feedback from the communities, and each weaver seems enthusiastic to participate in a project that will, most importantly, help Threads to understand the impact of their project on the lives of those who make it possible.

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