May 21, 2022
For this program, we heard from two young weavers in Peru who are working to continue the weaving traditions. There is no end of conversation about passing on traditions from grandmother to mother to daughter for millennia, but nearly always the speakers are outsiders or the adults who are doing the passing on. Rarely do we hear the youth speaking, those who are at the receiving end. CTTC, the Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco, has a strong youth program designed to help keep traditions alive. We were thrilled to give the podium to two young women, teenagers involved in the program, to talk about what it means to them to be inheriting these traditions.
Hilda Yesica Mamani Chura, 17, and Maysharon Quispe Ojeda, 18, joined WARP from Cusco, Peru, to tell us their side of the story. Both are currently students in Cusco Monday-Friday, studying accounting and teaching. They then return to their villages, Acha Alta and Patabamba, on weekends to maintain close family and community ties – and to take weaving lessons!