peru1d_590

Threads of Peru, ngo - handwoven, handspun, naturally dyed textiles. Ligia Gomez and Lourdes Hancco Chaucca from ToP discussing their next order and new designs with Master dyer Melchor.

Melchor Ttupa Quispe is a master dyer and his wife Narcisa is a weaver. They live in the town of Amparaes but belong to the Pitukiska Weaving Association as they are both originally from Pitukiska village. They use only local plants for the natural dyes.

Threads of Peru:
Melchor Ttupa Quispe is a member of Pitukiska’s weaving association, Mayu Ch’aska. He was born in Pitukiska in 1971. Melchor has three children, two sons and one daughter. All of Melchor’s children are currently studying. Melchor’s wife, Narcisa, is also a long-time member of the weaving association. Melchor attended school until the second grade, and speaks both Quechua and Spanish. An average day for Melchor includes working as a porter for the Inca Trail, making textiles, and selling his bracelets at markets in the city. His favourite part of Pitukiska are the beautiful mountains and the natural landscape. Melchor mentions that a challenge he sees in his community is that there is less work for men than for women. “Men can only work in the farm,” he says, “while women have many roles. They can raise sheep, maintain the family, or weave.” Melchor was taught to weave by his mother when he was a little boy. He mentions that, while it is rare for boys to weave, he always liked helping his mom and always loved the textiles, so his mother finally decided to teach him. Melchor’s favourite textile to weave is a bedspread. His favourite designs to weave are the uña de llama (llama's claw) and the mayu q'enqo (river in zig-zag formation). Melchor weaves because it is a tradition that his ancestors passed down to him; he weaves so that he does not lose those memories. Melchor says that he is in the association because: “we work, we weave, we don’t forget.” Melchor hopes that in the future his community will improve the quality of their textiles and their houses, and be able to offer turismo vivencial. Melchor wants the world to know that, even though Pitukiska has a lot to improve upon, it is also has a lot to offer – It has a lot of agricultural terrain, many native plants, and much more.

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