We flew to Peru carrying precious cargo in our suitcases—seventeen 1-pound bags triple-wrapped in plastic, and labeled “Ground Indigofera Tinctoria” just in case our bags were searched. This wasn’t the first time we were asked to be “indigo mules” and I’m sure we haven’t been the only carriers over the years. This indigo would be given as gifts to each of the ten weaving communities, association members of the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco (CTTC), who the ATA board and volunteers would be visiting in late October (2022). Recovering Natural Dye Usage Since the 1990s, the CTTC has worked to recover the practice of natural dyeing in the Cusco region. Through extensive research, attending workshops, talking with natural dye … Read More
The Re-Emergence of Ticlla-Watay: An Overview
A number of pre-Columbian textiles are so technically sophisticated that scholars today can’t be sure how they were made. Breathing new life into “lost” textile forms has been an important focus of the ten community weaving associations of the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco (CTTC), where they continue to re-vitalize Andean textile traditions and techniques. Between roughly 600 and 900 CE, the Nazca and Wari peoples evolved a very complex textile form, referred to as “Wari tie dye” by museums and scholars. These ancient pieces rival 1960’s tie dye in their vibrant designs, but the techniques are dauntingly complex, combining resist dyeing and multi-colored, de-constructed, and re-constructed woven cloth shapes. In 2020 Andean artisan weavers living in several of … Read More
Part of My Heart is in Peru
It’s always a good sign when the person I’m interviewing starts right off by saying: “I have this memory of the first time I met Nilda.” (Nilda Callañaupa is the founder and current director of the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco.) For the next half hour, Chris Switzer—a long-time ATA supporter—was full-on stories and while I’ve known Chris for many years, my admiration of her increased exponentially. “It was the late 1970s, when I met Nilda for the first time. I had recently joined the Handweavers Guild of Boulder, having recently begun spinning and weaving. This day’s program was presented by (American anthropologist) Ed Franquemont, and Nilda Callañaupa was with him demonstrating backstrap weaving. Nilda didn’t speak English at … Read More
What’s Happening in Peru?
It was just a few months ago that we sent our holiday greeting to you, expressing gratitude for your support this past year. We were rejoicing that after a three-year COVID-forced hiatus, the ATA board had been able to visit the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco (CTTC) and many of the weaving communities. Tourism was rebounding in Peru and the CTTC was poised to welcome all. Fast-forward four months and life in Peru has once again been altered due to political volatility. Tourism has come to a screeching halt. Inflation has at least tripled. And our dear weaving friends, who rely upon tourist and the support of the CTTC, are once again thrust into an unknown future. Of course, … Read More
Cataloging & Using Traditional Designs
The Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco (CTTC) has long understood the importance of documenting weaving designs, techniques, and other textile traditions that were disappearing over time. One of the early goals was to create a simple design catalog as a physical archive documenting a woven example of each design and its name. In 2020, the CTTC completed the documenting of the designs from all ten communities, finishing it during Covid, which helped to maintain contact with the weavers. In 2021, the CTTC expanded the design catalog from a physical archive to a digital database, taking photos of all the designs and collecting histories from the weavers about each design. By the end of this year, all of the CTTC’s … Read More
Congratulations, CTTC Interns!
As part of its 2022/2023 grant requests, the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco (CTTC) asked for the support of the ATA community to create an internships program for young weavers, aimed at developing the next generation of leadership for the CTTC and the weaving communities. You all gave generously to our spring 2022 campaign, and we were able to fund a grant that has already brought three young weavers to work at the center in Cusco. All three interns have learned new skills and provided valuable help to the CTTC’s programs. Alesandro “Sandro” Hayme, from Accha Alta, is 19 years old, and he has been interning in retail operations. He says the work in the CTTC store has been … Read More
Celebrating Peru’s Ancestral Textiles
On the third of November, the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco (CTTC) held a “Celebration of Ancestral Textile Arts” to mark the unveiling of its newly remodeled store, educational center, and office building in central Cusco. Throughout the day, representatives from the CTTC’s ten weaving associations spread across the sunlit green lawn of the Qorikancha, the most important temple in all of Incan culture, to work on backstrap looms, show off naturally dyed yarn, and talk with locals and tourists as interested passersby filled the wide sidewalk along the lawn. Dignitaries including the CTTC’s executive director Nilda Callañuapa, the CTTC’s board president Miryam Luna, and the mayor of Cusco, Víctor G. Boluarte Medina, all spoke warmly about the important … Read More
Chinchero Weaving Center Ready for More Visitors
Chinchero, Peru is a town in transition. It’s good news and bad news. Travel to Peru’s Sacred Valley has outgrown the airport in Cusco, and a new airport is under construction in Chinchero, one that will put incoming tourists that much closer to Machu Picchu, the ultimate destination of so many. The face of Chinchero is already changing, with exploding construction, more traffic, new businesses. The weavers of Chinchero are concerned about how the airport will affect their community. At the same time, they are determined to preserve their textile traditions and take advantage of what new opportunities may come. In preparation, the Chinchero weaving center, an extension of the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco (CTTC), has been remodeled … Read More
A Long-Awaited Visit to Peru’s Weaving Communities
During a recent ATA board visit to weaving communities in Peru, the village of Mahuaypampa was our first stop. Of all our visits, this community was the hardest hit by illness and low morale over the past few years. But this day, we were warmly greeted by the weavers who showered us with rose petals, followed by an honorable request to be padrinos (godparents) of their weaving shelter (we were the first group they welcomed into their center). With hammer in hands, held jointly by at least five of us, we smashed a clay jar filled with chicha, a corn-based beverage, and entered the compound. Construction of their weaving shelter was still underway (a project begun in 2019 with the … Read More
Telling the Tales: A Thank You to Libby VanBuskirk
In her book Beyond the Stones of Machu Picchu, Elizabeth (Libby) VanBuskirk introduces herself as “a writer, weaver, and teacher.” She continues with the statement that “the weaver’s art could never be separated from the larger culture of the Incas and their predecessors.” Libby VanBuskirk is a serious writer. She is a weaver. She is a visionary. And her story cannot be separated from the story of Andean Textile Arts (ATA). As part of ATA’s unfolding “memories project,” I was recently treated to a delightful and gracious chat with Libby through the wonders of our now ubiquitous Zoom. This was one of those conversations that I found myself longing for in person. I so wished for a cup of tea, … Read More