A group of eighteen travelers from the U.S. and Canada recently visited Cusco and several weaving communities in Peru’s Sacred Valley, absorbing Peruvian culture through spinning, weaving, and other fiber arts. Nilda Callañaupa, inspiring founder and director at the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco (CTTC), welcomed us warmly as our knowledgeable ambassador and teacher. Expert guides Raul Jaimes and Wilson Jaimes expanded our knowledge with natural and cultural history, geology, and archaeology–often over delicious meals, pisco sours, and a good story.
Our first weaving community visit was the village of Mahuaypampa, where we were greeted warmly by weavers who showered us with flower petals and music. Over the last few years, ATA donors have supported the construction of a new weaving shelter for Mahuaypampa, with newly installed toilets and running water. After literally and figuratively christening the toilets, blessings were declared by the sprinkling of water, chicha, and smiles all about.
Tour participants brought samples of their work to share and show. This interchange provided an opportunity for many questions ranging from whether we wove, knitted, or spun yarn, who had the most children, and did we spin alone or in a community. Spanish, Quechua, and English flowed and we all learned so much from each other.
Our second community visit was Accha Alta, where an impromptu contest between the weavers to spin the longest and the finest yarn was met with lots of helpful laughter and jockeying for first place. We saw a variety of weaving techniques ranging from tapiz (tapestry) weaving (an ATA funded project in 2020 reintroduced this technique to communities beyond Pitumarca), ticlla- watay (a pre-Columbian technique being revitalized), weaving of potato sacks, and the making of small, colorful q’urpus, a chain of finger-crocheted yarn used in small bobbles and hats.
Our next full day was in Chinchero, home of Nilda, Raul, and their families. Over the last two years, the Chinchero weaving center, an extension of the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco (CTTC), was remodeled with contributions from ATA donors, and the Flora and Delta Foundations. The Away Riqcharicheq Center now includes climate-controlled storage for the textile collection; expanded storage for the CTTC’s stores of natural dyes; and classroom, exhibition, and meeting spaces. Also new is a recreated “traditional house,” a small museum designed to share the experience of a typical home in a weaving community. A traditional lunch was delicious as well as educational, with “farm-to-table” delicacies including cuy (guinea pig), and a variety of potatoes and vegetables.
Our day in Chinchero was a tangible testament to the vision that Nilda, the CTTC board, and community members envisioned. We were treated to weaving demonstrations, a tour of the facilities, and, most memorable, a hands-on natural dye workshop. We worked beside local weaving masters to create a rainbow of spun merino yarns. Young weavers here attend all-day Saturday classes at the center as well as occasional “drop-in weave-ins” throughout the week. Many of the CTTC interns who have been funded by ATA donors were initially active in Chinchero and chosen for their budding leadership skills. These young people are proud of their traditions yet recognize that they will also need to develop new skills to carry into a modern and interconnected future.
We spent one day visiting Chahuaytire with a surprise opportunity helping to herd their alpaca. Climate change is impacting this high mountain village through an unprecedented drought. Alpaca have a higher incidence of miscarriage, so our shared hopes for fertility were poignant. Discussions of water challenges were a theme throughout the visits to each community. The association leaders, as well as the young weavers’ leader, graciously welcomed and expressed their deep appreciation for the support of the ATA donor community over the years.
Pitumarca was our last weaving stop, and we were welcomed there by a dazzling array of dancers in extraordinary traditional costumes. This weaving association is brimming with special techniques— scaffold weaving (ticlla), tapestry (tapiz), braiding, knitting, three-color supplementary and complementary techniques, and the Paracas/Nasca cross-knit-looping technique.
