Empowering Women Through Design in Rural Peru

Looking around our office, some people may have seen random materials destined for the trash-- small wooden hoops and scraps of yarn littered the room. However, our design intern, Emma Burzycki, found inspiration in the textile debris. With previous experience crafting dreamcatchers (atrapasueños), the idea sprung of turning them into keychains. As champions of resourcefulness and creativity, we loved this idea of repurposing the materials into something new and beautiful. The next step was to teach one of our cooperative’s how to make the product, then test run a small batch in the store to monitor sales and assess the success of the design.

We chose the Puka Rosas cooperative from Huilloc as the perfect group to explore this new product. Since making the dream catchers involves a different skill set from weaving, we were a little worried that the new design could be difficult to pick up. In reality, we shouldn’t have been apprehensive for even a moment: our artisans picked up the pattern in a matter of minutes. Our Head of Women’s Artisan Cooperatives, Mercedes Durand, believes that learning new skills help the women increase their confidence, and gets them excited with the idea of finding new ways of income that benefit their family and their community.

“Every pattern I use I have filed in my mind,” recounted Teresa, a member of our Puka Rosas knitting cooperative, “and any time I want to make a new pattern, I can figure it out from what I already know.” Many of our artisans start learning to weave as early as eight or nine years old. The knowledge of textiles becomes woven into every fiber of their being, and as they grow up, it grows and evolves with them. The deep familiarity with their craft becomes apparent the moment they pick up thread or needle; the object seems like a natural extension of their hand, and they maneuver it with the same fluidity as their own fingers.

We began the workshop by showing some basic sketches of the design. Then we got down into it, Emma sitting down with each individual artisan and demonstrating the process. The first women who learned the skill essentially became the point people for the project, and groups quickly formed around them. Artisans taught other artisans, everyone laughing through the early stumbles and helping each other to troubleshoot. The process in and of itself helped to empower the women to quickly become leaders and experts in a new area. When we asked Teresa about broadening her horizons, she said, “I love learning new designs. Adding to my arsenal of designs keeps the work with Awamaki more exciting.”

Soon the entire cooperative was intently at work, applying the same concentration and expertise that it takes to weave an entire blanket to the little wooden hoops and yarn. Watching them work, and feeling the focus nearly palpable in the air, I finally understood the phrase “love what you do and you’ll never work a day in your life.” This kind of work and the sense of community it creates seemed to be as much a part of the artisans as their smiles. As the day came to an end, the women started racing to finish their second or even third dream catcher, making sure that their work was complete.  

Just a short while later, we left Huilloc with colorful dream catchers and a feeling of fulfillment at the success of the workshop. The dream catchers are now for sale in the store in Peru, and we will hopefully be making our first major order to Puka Rosas in the near future!