Capacity-building for rural women artisans in Peru

Dear GlobalGiving supporter,

Together with the Songuillay Cooperative, we're excited to share the progress that their cooperative has made with their tourism program. This week, our team headed up for some work with them in advance of their first tourism overnights since 2019!

At our most recent tourism workshop, the artisans gathered at their weaving center in Patacancha last week to meet with with Mercedes Durand, Awamaki's Head of Women's Artisan Cooperatives. The Songuillay Cooperative has been working hard to expand their business, regularly hosting tours at the weaving center, managing the tourism agency clientele they have built, and preparing to host an upcoming multi-day cultural exchange program and homestay for 25 students visiting from the U.S.

"Responsibility, punctuality, commmitment, organization, and community!" Mercedes said to the group to open the session, writing the words on a large sheet of paper hung on the wall inside the main demonstration space of the center where the group hosts tours, outlining the pillars of the workshop and the fundamentals of collaborative success in their tourism endeavors.

Following the past 3.5 years, during which our artisan partners have weathered the pandemic and a subsequent a political crisis, the return of tourists to the region is meaningful and long-awaited. The members of Songuillay have spent this time working on their programmatic offerings, communal visitor space, and homes in preparation for this moment to seize the opportunity to expand their businesses and cultural impact.

Jesusa Quispe Machaca, a longstanding member of the Songuillay Cooperative, recently purchased land and built a house for her family. She has been continuously investing in the property with earnings from her work with the cooperative, adding additional structures and spaces to host tourists on the property, including a cheerful guest suite and private bathroom.

"I would really like to work more in tourism," Jesusa shared during a post-workshop visit to her home. "I want to keep working on my home, to continue fixinging it up to make it more hospitable," she continued, "I would like to make it into a more presentable and professional space, so I can receive guests more frequently".

Her vision is to turn her property into a consistently functional and profitable lodging for tourists, offering tours and demonstrations to share her land and culture, including personalized presentations about weaving, natural dyes, local plants, and other Quechua traditions.

She has dreams of even more growth. "As a group, we lack the ability to market our tours," Jesusa added. "It's one of our big faults, we don't have internet access or a website," she continued, "Right now we're reliant on other people to contact us for tours."

Talking about the future, Jesusa emphasized the importance of acquiring internet access and an online presence for herself and the group, "Hopefully we'll be able to get our own website soon, so we'll be able to advertise and be in contact with tourists directly to coordinate tours independently and grow our businesses."

Only a few years ago, Awamaki staff handled almost every aspect Songuillay's tourism. With practice through our training program, they are now running a successful business and working towards more growth. (Internet workshops and online tourism management-adding it to our list of training ideas for 2024!) Your continued partnership means that they can continue to invest in their businesses and shape the future of their communities.

Links:

• https://www.awamaki.org/

Together with the Awac Phuna cooperative, we are excited to share the progress we have made in building the Awac Phuna center. This space, longed-for and planned-for since 2018, is finally coming together thanks to the hard work of the Awac Phuna cooperative, and to your support. 

The center now has walls, and the roof is in progress! The artisans and their husbands are having weekly work parties to make the center a functional and inviting space for both the artisans’ business, and tourists who come to visit. The center is a symbol of hope, opportunity, and renewal for this community, which is coming out of a hard few years of pandemic and political instability..

This center will give the artisans space to thrive both artistically and economically. Your help and support has been crucial. Thank you!