Coca Leaf Ceremony and Female Peruvian Weavers
Join Women’s Quest to virtually visit female Peruvian weavers on Saturday, September 26th at 9am (MDT).
Register in advance for this meeting: https://zoom.us/meeting/register/tJEsce2spzsuE9GcpY-lujqnshJFrgM7yEs2
We had such an incredible time visiting the Women Weavers of Peru (virtually) in July that we are returning!
Learn the magic of the female PERUVIAN WEAVERS at the Center of Traditional Textiles in a one hour demonstration that will enliven your heart with the vibrant colors and weavings of these women.
Women’s Quest is all about women helping women and sharing these gifts to the world. Please join us to help support this local community of extraordinary artists.We will take you on an hour long journey to Chinchero, Peru, which is high in the Andes at 12,375 feet and rumored to be the birthplace of the rainbow!
We will open with a Coca leaf ceremony and talk about the Apus (mountains). Then we’ll hear from the weavers and move into a shopping opportunity. These women weavers have worked in the high Peruvian mountains, creating handcrafted textiles for centuries with techniques passed from generation to generation. They are essential in keeping the ancient traditional weaving patterns and practices alive.
Meet Nilda Callanaupa Alvarez
Nilda Callanaupa Alvarez will be our guide for the morning weaving demonstration. Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez is one of the founders and the director of the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco. She grew up in Chinchero, Peru. Nilda learning sheep raising, spinning, and weaving from her family and other Elders of the community. One of the first women to attend university in her community, Callañaupa holds a degree from the National University of San Antonio Abad in Cusco. Nilda has traveled throughout the world representing her people and their textile traditions.
The Center of Traditional Textiles of Cusco is a non-profit organization that “promotes the empowerment of weavers through the revitalization and sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textiles in the Cusco region. This enables the weavers to maintain their identity and textile traditions while improving their quality of life through education and promotion of their textile art.” To learn more about the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco and Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez, click here: http://www.textilescusco.org/.
Nilda will show us how the weavers naturally dye the yarn using local plants and insects, and bones and sticks are used to create a back-strap loom. Once the brightly-colored yarns are created, the women weave them into intricate textiles. We will see how different villages and regions in Peru have their own iconography and patterns that have been passed through centuries. We will also get the chance to buy these amazing textiles at a discount!
Come learn about the techniques of the Peruvian weavers. See first hand how they have kept these ancient traditions alive, passed down for thousands of years from generation to generation. Craving more? Join us on our next retreat to Peru!