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Our
Knitters
KUSIKUY
knitters are Aymara and Quechua pre-Inca descendents. They belong
to independent cooperatives and communities. Many members live in
simple adobe homes with thatched grass roofs and no electricity
or running water. Some knitters manage small organic farms caring
for llamas and sheep, and cultivating wheat, potatoes and "quinoa,"
a high protein Andean grain. Those living near the shores of Lake
Titicaca tend alpaca herds. Knitters are paid a fair wage for their
work and participate in skills workshops and personal growth opportunities.
Several knitters have traveled to the USA and Europe receiving international
recognition for the quality of their work. Earnings from knitting
go towards improving living conditions for families and strengthening
native communities..
La
Imilla
 Located
in the high tropical valleys of Cochabamba, Bolivia, the La Imilla
Knitting Cooperative is a 28+ member cooperative that works with
fine knitwear made of the highest quality super fine alpaca fleece.
This
internationally recognized cooperative is made of native women of
the Arani region. Organized in 1979, La Imilla is an association
of craftswomen created to improve the social and economic condition
of rural women. Imilla is a Quechua word that means "young
woman" and has been adopted as the name of the organization
as a symbol of its cultural heritage and a sign of respect to the
young women of Bolivia.
Since
1982, La Imilla has received training through the Panamanian Cooperatives
Administration and Canadian volunteer services, and international
support from the United States and England. In 1993, La Imilla received
the "Quality Award" in Chicago, USA and attended the Native
Women's Handicrafts meeting in Guatamala. They were also selected
to represent Andean knitters at the USA Indian Museum Indian Handicraft
Festival and received recognition for their high quality knitwear
by industry experts in Madrid, Spain.
La
Imillia hand knits the entire KUSIKUY Luxury Alpaca line. This cooperative
of 18 core members more than doubles in size as additional knitters
join to knit larger orders.
Quaytu
Three years old and growing strong, Peru's Qaytu, (pronounced kie'-tu)
meaning "woven" in the native language of Quechua, is
a full fiber production organization. Members of the rural indigenous
community, Viyacocha, in the Peruvian Andes raise their own alpaca
herds, hand sheer the fleece, and knit it into many of KUSIKUY's
adult alpaca products. Qaytu partners with neighboring communities
to source the rare Pima cotton that is professionally spun with
their alpaca. The mill processing this combined fiber follows all
guidelines for full organic fiber certification.
Qaytu
works exclusively with Peru's impoverished, isolated mountain communities
bringing training, education, and important income to both men and
women. The men care for the vast alpaca herds. Qaytu has helped
them to improve their herding techniques, sheering processes and
built special sheering floors in central communities to preserve
the quality of the sheered fleece. Qaytu purchases the sheered alpaca
direct from the communities it serves and transports it to Lima's
finest mills to have it carefully spun and into many fine grades
of alpaca yarn.
The
rural women are taught fine hand knitting and hand looming techniques
using the yarns produced by their own community's herds. They hand
loom on professional grade artesian knitting machines donated by
the European Community. Knitting is done together often at the town
schoolhouse. This gives the women an important time to socialize,
share and learn from each other. Participants earn a valuable income
for the production of the fine knits.
Qaytu
has received national attention from the Peruvian government for
excellence in work and is being used as a model of successful development.
Foreign visitors often tour the Qaytu villages, herds and knitting
groups.
Other
KUSIKUY knitting groups include:
Millma,
S.A, La Paz, Bolivia
Spirit
of the Andes, La Paz, Bolivia
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