• TRAVEL
    • THREE PERFECT DAYS
    • WHERE TO STAY
    • WHAT TO DO
    • ADVENTURE
  • FOOD + DRINK
    • RESTAURANTS
    • BARS + COCKTAILS
    • WINE + BEER
  • CULTURE
    • THE HEMI Q+A
    • TV + FILM
    • MUSIC
    • THEATER
    • SPORTS
    • STYLE + DESIGN
  • Watch
Menu
  • TRAVEL
    • THREE PERFECT DAYS
    • WHERE TO STAY
    • WHAT TO DO
    • ADVENTURE
  • FOOD + DRINK
    • RESTAURANTS
    • BARS + COCKTAILS
    • WINE + BEER
  • CULTURE
    • THE HEMI Q+A
    • TV + FILM
    • MUSIC
    • THEATER
    • SPORTS
    • STYLE + DESIGN
  • Watch
Search
Close
Home > CULTURE > Textiles

The Organization Keeping The History of Peru’s Textiles Alive

Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on pinterest
Share on email
  • by April Orcutt
  • May 1, 2018

PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID PRINCE

The handicrafts markets of Cusco, Peru, overflow with colorful weavings by artisans from the Quechua community, the descendants of the Incas. These intricate textiles originated thousands of years ago, but in the mid-20th century there was a decline in traditional methods. Cheap imported synthetic yarn began to replace alpaca, sheep, and llama wool, while chemical dyes were substituted for labor-intensive natural dyes made from Andean plants, insects, and minerals. Fearing that the art form and its complex patterns would be lost to history, master Quechua weaver Nilda Callañaupa helped establish the nonprofit Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco.

“The CTTC fulfilled the dream of reviving traditional textile practices and of keeping our culture alive,” Callañaupa says. “The work is like weaving your life—what is happening in your life now, then memories.”

Thanks to the work of the CTTC, young artisans from 10 communities in the Cusco region have returned to creating their own natural dyes, spinning yarn, weaving on backstrap looms, and reviving ancient storytelling patterns that depict mountains, rivers, constellations, flowers, and birds.

So do your part and bypass the cheap market offerings and head to the CTCC shop in Cusco for exquisite belts, wall hangings, tote bags, blankets, and more. textilescusco.org

Need a little extra wanderlust in your inbox?
Subscribe to our monthly newsletter.

You May Also Like

A Novelist Rediscovers Lima Twenty Years Later

A Melting Glacier’s Devastating Beauty

Cat’s Cradle: The Search for the Andean Feline

Virgilio Martinez Heads to the High Andes

Capturing the Perfect Pic in Peru

My Favorite Trip: Peru

  • Design, Fabric, Hemispheres, Peru, Style, Textiles
Share on facebook
Share on twitter
Share on pinterest
Share on email

Recommended

Travel

A Novelist Rediscovers Lima Twenty Years Later

  • BY Andrew Altschul
What To Do

A Melting Glacier’s Devastating Beauty

  • BY Sydney Otto
Adventure

Cat’s Cradle: The Search for the Andean Feline

  • BY Cayte Bosler
Restaurants

Virgilio Martinez Heads to the High Andes

  • BY Sara Lieberman
Hemispheres United Airlines

Hemispheres is the award-winning onboard magazine for United Airlines. The magazine is published by Ink and produced by a dedicated staff of media professionals out of an Ink satellite office in Brooklyn, New York.

Instagram Twitter Facebook-f Youtube

Content

  • Travel
  • Food + Drink
  • Culture
  • Watch

About

  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Advertising
  • Writers Guidelines

Legal

  • Terms + Conditions
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Anti-bribery & corruption policy
united_4p_h_w_r.png

© 2020 Ink for United Airlines. All rights reserved