Nilda Callañaupa

Peru

Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco

Woven Textiles

Textiles in and Andes are an important social and ethnic marker and a significant part of the cultural patrimony. Each community uses a different combination of designs and colors that reflect their connection with the earth through agriculture, cosmology, and other aspects of nature.

Founder and director of CTTC, Callañaupa was born in Chinchero Village near Cusco, Peru. She began spinning wool from sheep and alpaca at the age of six, and was weaving her first patterns by age seven. The CTTC now works with over 450 weavers and 250 children in nine communities. The work of the Center is not just to preserve and to study Peruvian textiles, their symbolism and significance but also to assist families to create a larger market for their textiles and a new economy for their communities. Gregoria, also an accomplished weaver is president of the weaver’s association in Chinchero.

The CTTC is remarkable in the quality of the textiles that its weavers produce, and its emphasis on traditional designs and techniques.