Team Peru

A Unique Adventure in the Sacred Valley

August 9, 2012

Recently Ben, Nadine, and I took the opportunity to visit a remote community that evades some of the “touristy” experience of Pisaq and Cuzco. Much like Choquecancha, the community of Chahuaytire houses an association of traditional textile weavers. This remarkable place is about 40 minutes away from Pisaq, high in the mountains. When we arrived, we were the only visitors at the weaving center, called the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales de Chahuaytire; this village only receives visitors once or twice a month. The weavers gave us a tour of their working center, and we watched closely as men continued weaving their beautiful and unique textiles on their looms. A large manta or poncho takes nearly 1 month to create, and these artisans work from dawn to dusk. We were then shown the oveja and alpaca wool, the different natural dyes, and the various plants and rocks used for deriving the dye colors. All the men and women weavers then brought out their products to display and sell to us; this was the most difficult part to go through because we were the only three visitors, and the pressure to buy was on! All works of art were beautiful

and deserving of being bought, so we made sure to spread ourselves out and buy products from almost all artisans. Being influenced by the work we do with the Choquecancha women, I personally find it important to buy products directly from the maker, and I loved witnessing how the men and women created their textile art firsthand. I encourage all travelers to try this alternative to Pisaq markets, as it directly supports indigenous weavers, who face huge barriers to selling their art in the dominant markets. ~Monica Kelsh

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