Asunciona

 

I was born in the aboriginal community of Rinconadillas and at the age of 15 I learned to work with textiles, my grandparents taught my parents and they gave me the knowledge of wool, the classification of colors, even before learning to read and write! 

They told me: "...we should never lose these customs, we are unique because of this knowledge, the work of creating with our hands is worthy... it is the ancestral heritage that we leave to those who come after us"

I know the art of weaving on a loom, the same one that I inherited from my grandparents, it is a work tool that has passed through several generations, I like working with this loom, we get along well.

I use sheep or llama wool for my garments, I do the yarn in pusca and for the dyeing I use natural ink from the area such as onion, yerba, ash, beetroot, airampo and a series of common herbs in this arid soil such as lampaya and achiote. 

For the color to “grow” in the wool we use lemon, alum or salt as bites. I make blankets, tapestries, blankets, rugs and footboards.

With this I support my family, we live, sometimes it is difficult but we are happy. I teach my coya brothers weaving, we learn that weaving and teaching serves as therapy... and so I have been dedicating myself to this for almost 30 years. I am very proud of what I do, I think that in some way I help to ensure that this ancestral knowledge is not lost.

I send you all a big hug and thank you for stopping by for a little while to get to know me.