| |
Crafts People
Kuyanakuy – The Arpillera Makers
Kuyanakuy is a sub-group of the Peruvian fair trade organisation CIAP. They make the stunning arpilleras listed in our Decorative Pieces section of the catalogue.
Kuyanakuy, a Quechua word meaning “may we love one another”, is a group of women from the regions afflicted by the violence of the 1980s, mainly from the rural areas of Ayacucho, Peru. Here is Juliana Quijano’s story:
It was during the years of violence, about 1988, that the women began to arrive. They came from Ayacucho, Huancavelica, Yauyos, Cora Cora, Vischongo, Acocro, Cangallo. At one point there were 12 families in my house, others stayed with relatives. A refuge was started in the Niño Jesús church, Avelina and ángela Hernández helped out, gave medicine… little by little the number of women went up to 15, 20, 35.
There was a recreation space, they tried to occupy the women who had been traumatised by violent events, playing marbles, hide and seek, jump rope, riddles. It was hard because most of them didn’t speak Spanish. My aunt made arpilleras, so we started to teach the women to make arpilleras but the quality wasn’t good and nobody would buy them. When ángela went on holiday we started making 25 x 25cm arpilleras. We took them to the “la Marina” market, I knew a woman there that bought things and when we explained our problems she bought from us. Deducting the cost of materials, we shared the rest out between the women and with that we started to improve. Then CEAS (Episcopal Commission for Social Action) gave us a bit of capital… now instead of playing games we began to make arpilleras.
Between 1991 y 1992 we left the church and set ourselves up in our areas: Sagrado Corazón (in the 5 de Mayo area), Niño Jesús (in los ángeles), San Luis (in Huanta), in 1993 in Nazareno (Virgen de las Mercedes) and in 1995 in Las Américas (those that came from Vinchos).
In Sagrado Corazón we set up a canteen called “Mamacha Carmen”, Caritas helped us with food, and in Las Américas they set up a canteen too, “Acuchimay”. PRONAA (National Food Aid Program) also started to assist the canteens with food.
In 1993 the NGO SUYASUN was formed thanks to a CEAS Episcopal initiative. This NGO was founded to support the many women that were fleeing the violence, using therapy programs to give the women psychological help.
Most of the women were illiterate… they had to sign to get their pay and they resisted learning how. So I taught them to sign with their initials, they had to put their initials then a little scrawl. Some would do it, others not, so we’d keep their work for the group’s supplies… they’d leave but later they’d come back and sign, that’s how they learned to sign their names. Later on we began literacy courses, more than 30 women enrolled and only 2 finished the year.
We started celebrating the traditional festivities of our various towns. The first was the festival of Parccahuanca en Acocro which is Angelina’s village, they bought “anisado” (an alcoholic aniseed drink), prepared “chicha” (a maize liquor) and food and the women cried remembering their villages. The second year we had a harp and violin and the third year an orchestra… we decorated the Virgin so beautifully.
In 1995 we discovered CIAP at a RELACC (Latin American Community Trade Network) meeting and we met Graciela and Mr. Moner. With CIAP we improved the quality and design of our work, worked out our costs and began to form the board of management.
The Organization
At present the group is centralised for production purposes. General meetings are held monthly, with other meetings as needed. The management board comprises 7 members who meet to discuss any urgent matters.
Production and Marketing
The association consists of 45 women, of whom 38 are currently active members – all specialise in arpillera making.
A number of women meet to come up with ideas for designs, as not all have the same abilities.
When an order arrives, the group meets to organise production and a committee is nominated to purchase materials. Materials are bought in bulk and distributed according to the products each person will make. When no orders are pending, the women carry on making the little figures and other generic articles.
In the central workshop, 7 people are in charge of preparing the basic form of the arpillera, from where they are distributed amongst as many members as possible.
The women are divided into three levels according to their speed and ability. When an urgent order is pending, it is delegated to the fastest and most skilful women. If an order exceeds the group’s production capacity, other women they know in the community are called upon, who eventually come to work for the association.
The women do their work at home, with help from the whole family. Husbands who are unemployed or who help out in their spare time are experts at sewing, whilst the children also lend a hand when not studying, doing small tasks like embroidering the grass, clouds, etc.
A committee of 10 people are in charge of final checks and quality control, simultaneously putting the finishing touches to each piece. Payment is made according to output and is issued upon handing in their products.
Services and Benefits the Members Receive
The main benefit for the women is work. It is an important source of income because their husbands are sometimes without employment.
Mutual Support – When a member becomes ill, the group organise an activity to raise money for her.
Christmas Basket – Each member receives a basket of supplies at Christmas time.
Emergency Fund – A fund that is used to give loans to members in such cases as illness, accidents and other emergencies.
Many of the women have made housing improvements, are educating their children and above all have a supportive community where they are valued – a great boost to their self esteem.
|
|
