Threads of Peru Blog

The famous images of indigenous women weaving against a stunning mountain backdrop are very eye catching and appealing. However the reality is working outside is not that enjoyable, especially in the wet season, which lasts 4 -5 months of the year starting in November and continuing through with greater intensity to peak in February.

The wet season months are also typically low season for tourists, and so as most of the supplementary income for the communities which comes from the men working as muleteers or porters dries up.

Threads of Peru would like to continue to work with the craftswomen during these months, but if the weavings get wet, they stretch and warp.  Also, if we make orders during these months we know that the women weave in their houses, which are very dark even during the day. There is no electricity so weaving during the night is out of the question. It is so dark in the houses that their eyes suffer significant strain, and as most houses do not have a chimney they fill up quickly with smoke damaging the quality of the weaving and, more importantly, the health of the weaver.

Weaving houses, which are relatively simple to construct and provide multiple benefits:

• Shelter from elements while weaving or meeting in the long wet season
• A meeting place for women
• Place to host visitors to the community and put weavings on display.
• It has potential to be a sheltered campsite for visitors to the community.

There is a temptation amongst foreigners working with these remote villagers to do everything for the community, so we have been waiting for the communities to take the lead on this project and so to encourage sustainability from within.

We are currently working with the community in Rumira Sondormayo who have now organised some land by the river for their weaving house, and fenced it off.

Furthermore, we have secured funding from some generous Canadian donors (who have trekked with our partners Apus Peru two years running) who will assist in the purchase of materials needed and which cannot be obtained in the community.

All manual labour needed to construct the Rumira Sondormayo weaving house will be from the community, in keeping with the traditional principle of ayni.

We hope to post pictures of this shelter very soon!

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Name: Fani Karaivanova, Textile Project Assistant and Community Liaison for Threads of Peru since July 2011

1)      What inspires you to work for Threads of Peru?

I am inspired from the results that ToP has achieved in these years of working with the communities. The weavers value their textile tradition and conserve it. Their weavings have considerably improved since the beginning of the project and now even more community members as willing to be part of the weaver’s associations.

I am also inspired by the philosophy of the project and its continuity. While other NGOs have also analyzed the textile culture in the communities and trained the weavers in improved textile techniques and natural dying, most of them did not give importance to the commercialization of the textiles and as a consequence have failed in the economic sustainability of their projects. ToP have achieved an economical sustainability until the moment by assuring a constant commercialization the community's weaving.

2)      Favourite Peruvian food?

It is hard to name one meal as a favorite. It is even more difficult as I am a Vegetarian and most Peruvian dishes are based on meat or fish. However, I love the variety of fruits and vegetables throughout the year, as well as the variety of herbs and their common use everywhere.

I like a lot the hot and spicy sauces in the Peruvian cuisine based on aji (hot pepper) and huacatay (Andean aromatic herb), as well as the variety of fresh fruit juices and cakes. I also love the Peruvian street breakfast based on hot quinua (Andean cereal) and maca (high-Andean medical root plant with similar properties to Ghin-Seng) juice and soya milk, as well as the emoliente (medical hot drink sold on the street in early mornings and late evenings made of a variety of fresh herbs and medical plants).

3)      Best spot in Cusco for visiting?

Qariqancha, ICPNA, Paraninfo, Cusco municipality for cultural events

Wachuma, The Frogs, 7 Angelitos for night-life

Sacsayhuaman, Tambomachay and surroundings for one-day nature hikes

4)      Happiest/most touching moment in the communities?

Playing with the children and looking at the smiley faces of the weavers.

5)      Strangest/funniest moment from living in Peru? Ohhh they are sooooooo many! My favourite one is when my Mom was visiting and we went to the jungle and stayed in a lodge, my Moms phone went missing and it turned out a monkey had stolen it! My Mom chased it around the lodge before it jumped up onto the roof, luckily the monkey evenutally threw the phone back down to her.

Fani is a volunteer with Threads of Peru, if you would like to volunteer with us and experience life in Cusco check out our website www.threadsofperu.com  for more information and contact details.

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It is a sunny summer day in Rumira Sondormayo, an Andean village in the highlands of Ollantaytambo, Cusco, surrounded by high mountain peaks and glaciers. Rumira is a typical high-Andean agricultural village with long weaving traditions. In the last years it has taken advantage of the increasing tourism in the region and has diversified its economic activities. Now, most of the men and grown boys in the village work as porters or cooks on the Inca Trail. This has significantly changed the local life style.

During the 6 months of the high tourism season, while most men are away from home for days, the women and older children have to take responsibility for all the house and field works – taking the animals for pasture, working on the chakras (agricultural fields), taking care of the house and the smaller children. In addition, the women help improve the financial stability of the household by weaving traditional cloths and selling them directly to the tourists visiting the village occasionally or on the international market through the support of a NGO.

But let´s take a closer look into the daily life of a woman in Rumira Sondormayo.

Justina is married and has three children, two girls aged  5 and 2 and a one-year old boy. The older girl attends school.  Justina herself is 25 years old and never went to school. She wakes up with the rising of the sun, at about 4:30-5:00 am. The first thing she does in the morning is to pray to God. Then, she starts cooking the meal for the day, which usually consists of potatoes or lisa (Andean legume), sometimes she will make a chuño soup (soup of ice dried potatoes).

After breakfast she sends her daughter to school and goes to the fields with the animals and her two other children. If her husband isn’t working on the Inca Trail, he would be helping out in the potatoes fields, Justina would bring him the lunch and they would eat together. She is always spinning or preparing the yarn for weaving while taking out the animals for pasture, working on the field or at home. Sometimes, Justina even brings her weaving to the fields to finish it.

After lunch, Justina´s daughter comes back from school and goes to help her mother with the animals or do her homework. Justina goes back home at dusk, brings the animals to their corral and starts to prepare the evening meal. After the family has their dinner together, Justina cleans up the kitchen and goes to bed at around 8 pm.

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