Awamaki

Awamaki is an NGO located in the historical village of Ollantaytambo. Its mission is to help protect and promote the rich Quechuan weaving tradition of the region, particularly in the nearby indigenous community of Patacancha.

Until recently Awamaki was part of CATCCO, a local museum started by the groundbreaking anthropologist Anne Kendall. Kendall combined archaeological work on ancient Incan sites with research and advocacy in modern Quechaun communities, recognizing the centrality of textiles in Quechua culture as well as the loss of traditional knowledge due to forces of modernity and globalization. Awamaki is modeled after the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco, an organization founded by noted Quechuan weaver Nilda Callanaupa Alvarez in conjuction with anthropologists concerned about the status of the textile tradition.

Today Awamaki has formed an intimate relationship with its weavers in Patacancha. One of its primary purposes is to encourage high quality weaving using traditional techniques by buying and selling such works at a price commensurate with the labor and skill involved. Education is an important part of the process, as Awamaki arranges community visits and weaving demonstrations to further appreciation of the weavers’ work and its place in Quechuan culture.
Awamaki educates the weavers themselves in techniques that have already been lost to the community but have survived elsewhere, such as natural dying processes. Awamaki also places volunteers in Patacancha and Ollantaytambo to benefit the community in other ways, serving in roles such as teaching English and working in local health centers.

Why is the weaving tradition under threat? Certainly a visitor traveling in the Andean highlands will notice an abundance of striking handcrafted textiles. Despite centuries of oppressive colonialism and ethnic discrimination, the Quechuan identity remained strong in remote regions of the Peruvian Andes. However, in the past few decades many Quechuans have migrated to urban centers, particularly the capital Lima, abandoning many of their cultural practices in the process. Tourism has been a mixed blessing, as many visitors are willing to pay high prices for inferior work, causing weavers to abandon the richer, more personal, and time consuming processes in favor of this new source of income. The disappearance of natural dye techniques has more to do with the aesthetic preferences of the Quechuans themselves, particularly the youth, who often prefer the brighter and longer lasting colors of manufactured dyes.

With the support of organizations like Awamaki, many Quechuans have a renewed sense of pride in their traditions that stretch back centuries and even millennia.