Empowering Women Through Design in Rural Peru

Since our last update, Awamaki’s women’s weaving cooperatives have been busy learning new design skills! Over the past few months, the women in the rural communities of Patacancha and Kelkanka have been learning about color theory and measurement. As Awamaki continues to organize training workshops for the women of our weaving cooperatives so that they can produce internationally marketable products, we in turn learn more about how and why the women design their textiles the way they do, with specific inconography and colors.  This is a great example of the intercultural connections that Awamaki fosters. 

During the recent color theory workshops in Patacancha, Awamaki’s most recent Resident Designer, Tara Gainer, taught the women about the color wheel, and organized hands-on activities with the women to explore their perceptions of different colors and color combinations. The women worked as a group to assign a Quechua name to each color on the color wheel, setting standard names that will now be used between Awamaki and the cooperative to better communicate special orders. This exercise also allowed Tara to teach the women basic descriptive Spanish words for the colors, such as bright and dull. By keeping all of the women on the same page with standard vocabulary, product consistency and quality control will be easier to implement.

Awamaki’s Quality Control Coordinator and Product Designer, Tessa Ranish-O’Donnell, has been in Kelkanka recently, teaching the women about measurement. At the beginning of the workshop, Tessa learned that most of the women didn’t even have their own tape measures, and they had been visually estimating the size of their textiles, which had been creating inconsistencies in size. Tessa reviewed basic counting and measuring skills with the women, and made each woman her own tape measure. Now, the women will continue to practice measuring their own textiles with the president of the cooperative. The president will then be checking the length and width of each textile before it is turned into Awamaki for sale, making sure that consistent sizes are being used.

Workshops and skill building exercises like the color theory and measurement workshop would not be possible without the continued support of Awamaki’s donors like you. By donating money to Awamaki for specific projects, our staff, volunteers, and the women of our cooperatives have the resources they need to continue improving their skills and expanding their markets. As the women gain new expertise, their products become ready for international sale, extending the economic opportunities for the women and giving them a chance to earn more money to support their families. Thank you for your continued support! Awamaki looks forward to keeping you updated on the progress of our cooperatives.