Pitumarca
Pitumarca is a remote, rural area high in the Andes. It is about 2 hours drive from Cusco, off the road heading south towards Sicuani. Although the landscape is stunningly beautiful, in a rural location like this, there is little work for women, and the men work in the surrounding fields or doing maintenance work for the Municipality for about $2 a day.
The knitting project here has opened up a new opportunity for women to earn much-needed extra income. Around 100 women in the village and surrounding areas are involved in knitting hats, scarves, mittens and ponchos, finger puppets and Christmas cards.
All products are made from 100% alpaca which is purchased in Cusco from Michell, a well known alpaca manufacturer. The women can visit the nun's house and collect wool free of charge, to take home and knit the products Mamacha has ordered. They knit in their own time, often early in the morning or while they are walking with the animals to pasture. They usually knit for a couple of hours a day, on and off. This means that the work does not interfere with their daily lives. When they have finished the product, they return to the nun's house and immediately receive cash in hand payment.
Veronica is a local mother who mans the workshop and checks the quality and measurements of the garment and encourages newcomers on their progress. The language spoken is Quechua. Each woman has her own card that records the products she has completed and she signs to say she has received payment. There are about 90 women signed up to the program and each woman completes one piece per fortnight, or several smaller pieces to the same value, in order to ensure everyone gets the same amount of work. It is a wonderful sight to see so many women benefitting regularly from the scheme.
Other Mamacha projects:
