Empowering the local community through Textiles

Dear Supporters,

Textiles in Cusco do not only represent an ornament for tourists or a great souvenir to take home. Textiles show a whole community’s history, their designs represent their beliefs and a way to continue the knowledge passed by generations since the Inca period. With the development of mass industry and the mass tourism happening in Cusco, hand-made weaving and hand-made textiles are getting lost, for this reason, GVI has made efforts to focus on preserving textiles through the partnership of local organizations knowledgeable of this matter. The main one is the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales de Cusco (CTTC). 

Throughout this year we have increased the efforts to start fundraising for the projects CTTC needed support. In this case we focused on the community of Acopia, where the textile association gathers 30 adult members and 20 children who all work together in order to preserve their traditional weaving. Alongside GVI volunteers we made a first visit at the beginning of June in which everybody participated on the natural dyeing of fabric and a shared space for food between community members and volunteers. This was a chance to get to see the needs of the association and the volunteers get encourage to start fundraising for them. 

After this visit, as a first time for the Cusco GVI hub, two volunteers organized the first ever fundraising event for our Peru Textiles project. The event consisted of the participation of all volunteers in the dance and parade of our local partner Centro Bartolomé de las Casas (CBC) on Sunday, June 23, which took place in the streets of Cusco and the Plaza de Armas. Volunteers joined the rehearsals for a week and presented themselves with CBC staff.

After a week of fundraising, we reached a total of 206 pounds, which will go directly to helping build the textile centre of Acopia. 

We have continued working along the CTTC communities helping them through our enrichment activities: we have had weaving lessons at Patabamba community, in which we contributed with 15 volunteers taking a 3-hour lesson, each one with a personal teacher from the community.

The goal of the fundraising event was to support building a new textile centre in the Acopia community to continue their work to spread their ancestral textile knowledge and continue to develop the highest quality products to sell to tourists. 

According to CTTC, in Acopia the weaving tradition nearly disappeared completely as only elder weavers knew the unique designs of the community. Since 2006, CTTC started working in Acopia centred on teaching the younger weavers the knowledge from the elders.

In this case, the funds were used to buy fuel for a machine that would flatten the area in front of the building and two doors. Also, GVI’s volunteers visited Acopia to support a ‘faena’ day (community work), moving mud bricks and rocks that would continue the construction of the building. 

We have impacted SDG 8- Decent work and Economic Growth, as we are supporting a better workspace for the community members of this association and giving them an area where they can continue to grow their business. On the long term, the association will use the space not only to create more products but to be a center of textile knowledge where they can show their own techniques and safeguard the quality of their hand-made products.  

The Peru textiles project has been a great way to showcase the incredible knowledge women, men and children from different communities in Cusco have about their traditional weaving. Seeing them fight over their traditions and search for external help to accomplish their goals, gives us more strength to continue working alongside them. 

It is with great pride and excitement to see that we got to support one project for the Acopia community. From seeing the community work together in their textiles and sharing experiences to volunteers participating in the fundraising event, in which all volunteers dress up, practice for over a week and performed in front of thousands of people in the main square of Cusco. The effort, time and dedication from volunteers and community members show us that working together towards the same goal gives us hope to continue our support. After coming back to the community with the funds, it was an amazing moment to see women and men so excited to continue working with us, they even said that they were losing hope to continue the construction but now they felt supported and more willing to continue. 

We have impacted SDG 8- Decent work and Economic Growth, as we are supporting a better workspace for the community members of this association and giving them an area where they can continue to grow their business. On the long term, the association will use the space not only to create more products but to be a center of textile knowledge where they can show their own techniques and safeguard the quality of their hand-made products.  

It is with your continued support that we can make an impactful and long-lasting impactin the community. We are greatful for your generosity and it goes without saying that the GVI Trust and all its donors, play a vital  and essential role in making a sustainable and impacting difference to the lives of many communtiy members within the Nomzamo communtiy.

With Gratitude,

Peru Textiles