WHO we work with in Ayacucho? ~ PERU PRA PROJECT ~ Helping the remote artisan

PERU PRA PROJECT

Ayacucho is an Andean city known as the home of the best rug and tapestry weavers in the whole of South America but it is hard for them to sell their weavings at a fair price because their fine craft is not appreciated by many Peruvians. They are talented weavers who use sheep wool and mainly natural dyes. They make weavings of the highest quality that are sold in exclusive galleries in Cusco and in the USA.

I have never seen high quality handwoven rugs in the markets of Ayacucho or Cusco. Most of the weavings are made of synthetic fibers and synthetic dyes, they also feature a more simple design, but to the untrained eye (that is, most of people) these cheap weavings are good enough.

Top Ayacucho weavers do not sell their fine weavings in markets because the price people want to pay would not even pay for the materials used, let alone the time and work involved in creating one fine handwoven rug. Here is where USAID tackles in. They have financed a project called PERU PRA PROJECT ("Poverty Reduction and Alleviation Project") to help the remote Ayacucho artisans (weavers, knitters, ceramists and others) to sell their crafts at a fair price mainly to international markets. Experts at Peru Pra Project give them advise about how to improve the quality of the products and how to work with international customers. The aim is to teach them to manage their small business and help them to grow.

Monicas Inca Treasures, my eBay business, works with PERU PRA PROJECT. We buy our handwoven rugs and other crafts direct from many artisans who work with Pra Project. The artisans do not pay a commission to Pra Project, all the money goes to the artisans.

We also work with other Ayacucho weavers who do not work with Pra Project. Yet, all weavers we work with are extremely talented.

Photo above: Luzmila Palomino and other Andean women in her community knit the "ferret chullos" I sell on eBay Australia. We are at her home in Ayacucho.

Photo right: Award winner Santos Acasio, Gabrina Tealdo (Head of Pra Project in Ayacucho) and I at Santos' home in Ayacucho.

Luzmila and Santos are two of the many artisans we work with.

More posts about Peru Pra Project Weavers.