Posts Tagged ‘Artisans from Peru’

Mayu Film Recommendation: Soy Andina

Tuesday, February 16th, 2010

Mid-February is about the time when we all grow sick of winter. The holidays have come and gone, the snow has worn out its welcome and we just want to get back outside! But, while we patiently wait for the warmer months to roll through, Mayu has a movie recommendation for your indoor entertainment.

Soy Andina is “the dazzling story of two women raised in different worlds — an immigrant folk dancer from the Andes, and a modern dancer from Queens, NY — who return to Peru to reconnect with roots and an astonishing world of traditional dance and celebration.”

We’ve mentioned Huayno dancing a number of times in past communications, but this movie truly highlights the cultural significance to Peruvians. Dancing ignites the importance of folklore and tradition within the Peruvian community as people look to express themselves through various forms of movement. Both traditional and modern, Huayno is the preferred dance of Mayu’s artisans (and of course one of our favorite Peace Corps activities!). Click here for a sample of wiki huayno music! In the film, you will catch a glimpse of rural Andean life and have a better understanding of where our artisans come from.

This wonderful documentary was created by Mitch Teplitsky. Mitch has partnered up with founder/organizer of the Foreign Film Club and New York Spanish Language Meetup, to screen Soy Andina on Saturday, March 27 at Iguana in NYC. The event will include a showing of the film, Q&A with Mitch and Cynthia (main character); followed by a Peruvian dance workshop and Salsa! This should be a fantastic event. Readers, let us know if you plan on attending…a possible Mayu meet-up?!

There you have it; Mayu’s inaugural film recommendation. So get a copy of the movie, get cozy under your Mayu hand-knit alpaca throw and hunker down for just one more night of winter.

Stay up to date on movies, Peruvian culture and hand-knit alpaca accessories by following us on Twitter@shopmayu, our blog and Facebook.

Enjoy the show!

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Alpaca Garments: Dry-clean vs Hand-wash?

Wednesday, February 10th, 2010

The dreaded “Dry-clean Only” tag…

There are plenty of opinions on dry-cleaning out there; be it concerning the environmental effects, necessity or cost. But what it all boils down to is, hand-washing is a far easier method for cleaning your garments. You can conduct business from home, using regular household items (i.e. shampoo) and have complete control over the process! No more concern over Perchloroethylene, also known as perc, PCE, C2Cl4, or tetrachloroethene, the solvent used by 90% of dry-cleaning businesses in the United States! This chemical is highly toxic and has several harmful side-effects if not used correctly.

The good news? All of Mayu’s hand-knit alpaca products are hand-wash! Should you want to dry-clean your products, you certainly may, however we suggest washing them in Woolite or shampoo. This is the method used by the Peruvian artisans; in the photo is Mari–after a long day of traveling with the alpaca fiber, she hand-washes the fiber in baby-shampoo and when she is done, she will take it up to her roof  to dry in the strong Andean sun. If you choose to hand-wash, lay the items FLAT to dry. The shampoo leaves the alpaca soft and smelling yummy (as opposed to the smell of dry-cleaning chemicals!) If at any point your item becomes wrinkled, press it with a steam iron.

So there you have it, one more reason to buy alpaca! Don’t forget to read more about Mayu and shop for alpaca to help support artisans. As always, we appreciate your comments, questions and ideas. Please follow us on Twitter@shopmayu, follow the blog and become our fan on Facebook.

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Volunteer in Peru: Home of our Artisans and the Alpaca!

Saturday, February 6th, 2010

Mayu Readers-

We want to share an exciting volunteer activity in Trujillo, Peru, happening this summer. As a reminder, Kate lived in Peru, while working for the Peace Corps, so the location is near and dear to our hearts. Kerry Steinberg and Giovanna Ayesta started an amazing organization, VEN Peru, and are looking for volunteers for the Summer of 2010. The program runs from June 3rd to July 2nd, 2010. Many of the Mayu artisans live in Trujillo, and a lot of the hand-knitting takes place in the city.  We would love to help them find volunteers as the more help we can bring our Peruvian friends, the better! The ideal volunteer is someone who is interested in learning about Peruvian culture, while also volunteering their time.

Past engagements included working in an orphanage, medical clinic, animal shelter and on an organic farm. We encourage you to visit the website to see testimonials, pictures and also receive further information (cost, transportation, accommodations, etc) about the project. If you are unable to volunteer your time in Peru, the organization would still love your help. You can reach Kerry, and the rest of the VEN Peru organization, at information@venperu.org or by phone at 404-906-0569 For our readers in the Atlanta area, you may also attend one of two informational sessions on February 18th at 6:30pm or March 4th at 6:30pm. Please see the website for further information. And an added bonus to traveling to Peru? You can see AND feel your very own alpaca. Just as soft as we promised!

Further, if you are interested in Peru, the artisans that work there, and the lovely alpaca, don’t forget to read more about Mayu and shop for alpaca to help support artisans. As always, we appreciate your comments, questions and ideas. Please follow us on Twitter@shopmayu, visit our awesome blog (coverage of great issues and topics) and become our fan on Facebook.

Enjoy the weekend!

Your friends at Mayu

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Working with Peruvian Wool

Saturday, December 26th, 2009

 

Pictured below is my host grandmother, Angela, who I lived with while I served in the Peace Corps. She was definitely the expert weaver! In the afternoon, she usually sit inside her kitchen and spin all-natural sheep wool that she or her husband had gathered just days earlier. They owned hundereds of sheep and used their wool to make a variety of items including much-needed blankets to keep them warm in the Anden weather. As you can, the wool comes in a variety of colors, similar to the Alpaca. Unfortunately, Angela did not own any Alpacas, but if she did, the process of shearing, separating, classifying, washing and hand-spinning the fiber would be very similar. To learn more about Alpaca fiber, visit www.whatisalpaca.com!

Grams and Wool sm

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Grams Working with Wool

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

Yesterday’s photo from Wordless Wednesday is Grams, my host grandmother, working with sheep wool. You can see it gathered at her feet and in her hands as she works the fiber. This is similar to what the alpaca farmers would do with the alpaca fiber once the animal was sheared. Just think of the time involved in each step in getting the fiber fom the alpaca (or sheep in this case) to the finished hand-knit alpaca product. Simply amazing, isn’t it?

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Two More Artisans – Bertha and Elvira

Tuesday, September 29th, 2009

Bertha and Elvira working on scarf

Featured today are Bertha and Elvira. They are working on a patchwork scarf. Mayu’s patchwork scarf takes the ladies approximately 8 hours to make.

Elvira is a very active artisan and one who is able to afford to send her children to school in the city because of her work with Mayu Hand-Knit Alpaca. Working for Mayu opens doors for the Peruvian ladies to earn income they would not otherwise have access to and still remain at home with their children. Isn’t that the heart’s desire of many mothers all over the world?

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