Click here to view the embedded video.

What kind of dance is YOUR favorite? Leave a comment below! For more on Peruvian traditions and customs, stay tuned to our FB posts, Tweets and RSS Feed!

Some people actually go to Peru as tourists, others, like our own Kate Robertson, go there to work on the new fall designs for Mayu. The sign, for those non-speakers of Spanish, welcomes you to bonito Chiquian, the “Little Mirror of Heaven,” and details the tourist activities one can partake of in that part of the Bolognesi Province. These include seeing an archaeology site, the Huayhuash Mountain Chain, and several touristy streets in the actual town. Kate is enjoying her vacation very much, she loves Chiquian! I think this new sign on the outskirts of the town makes her realize all the things she still has to do in Chiquian as a visitor from afar. What about you guys? When you travel, do you HAVE to do all the touristy stuff, or are you more about relaxing with the local people? Leave a comment below!

Thanks for reading, have a great weekend!

Chelsea
Mayu Intern :]

For more on Chiquian, stay tuned to our blog, follow us on Twitter and find us on FB, or you can visit the town’s lovely website!

Connect with Mayu on Twitter, Facebook and our blog for exciting news about Peru, artisans, sustainability, eco-fashion, fair trade, and hand-knit alpaca.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Mayu loves to blog about traveling, especially the type of  travel that enables visitors to connect and volunteer with local people, like our Fair Trade Artisans. Courtesy of our friends at Green By Design, we are able to present to you the fundamentals of “Socially Responsible Travel.” We already know that for many developing countries like Peru, tourism plays an integral part in sustaining the economy. Why not get more “bang for your buck,” so to speak, and volunteer with the local people or learn more about the culture and language of the people you visit? It also helps to ensure that you are minimizing your ecological footprint when you travel.

Green By Design is a really innovative site that investigates the worlds of fashion and design and asks if they are environmentally and socially conscious. We at Mayu encourage you to check out their intuitive, informative and innovative blog posts!

“CREST, the Center for Responsible Tourism, sums up responsible travel this way: ‘Traveling responsibly is not about making sacrifices, stopping development, or staying home. It is about designing tourism programs and individual trips carefully, to provide travelers with the experience they seek, while leaving a positive footprint at their destination.’” The next time you think of going on a vacation, try to research some ways you can donate your time or resources at your journey’s end. Green By Design has some great resources for you to start with, including airlines, cruise lines, and travel companies!

For more on sustainability, Fair Trade, green living and travel, check out our blog, follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook!

Connect with Mayu on Twitter, Facebook and our blog for exciting news about Peru, artisans, sustainability, eco-fashion, fair trade, and hand-knit alpaca.

Click Pic for Video Link!

Watch traditional Peruvian weaving in action! The Travel Channel‘s Samantha Brown visits rural Peru to discover the differences between llamas and alpacas, and to witness traditional weaving techniques. Click the photo to follow the link>>

Connect with Mayu on Twitter, Facebook and our blog for exciting news about sustainability, eco-fashion, fair trade, and hand-knit alpaca.

In addition to providing artisans with a fair wage, one of the key components of fair trade practices includes the prohibition of child labor. Saturday, June 12 was the World Day to End Child Labor. Mayu believes that children around the world are entitled to heath, education, and a fair shot at having a childhood. To this end, we ensure that our Peruvian artisans NEVER employ any sort of child labor in their undertakings. Poverty is usually considered cyclical in nature, and we at Mayu believe that the first step in alleviating poverty is to protect children’s rights: nutrition, education, and social, emotional and cognitive development.

We, as members of the Fair Trade Federation recognize that “fair trade means that all children have the right to security, education, and play. Throughout the trading chain, members respect and support the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, as well as local laws and social norms. Members disclose the involvement of children in production. Members do not support child trafficking and exploitative child labor.” (From FTF.org)

One of the great organizations that does such great work with ending child labor is UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund. For more information on ending child labor, you can visit their website. Stay tuned to Mayu’s blog, Twitter, and Facebook for more on human rights, fair trade, and development news!

♥ (Who would want anything but the best for these Peruvian children?! ) ♥

We would compare our throw blanket with the Seen-It-On-TV Snuggie, but the two are incomparable! Far superior to synthetic fleece, our basketweave blanket with fringe is amazing! Do you actually want to look like a potato when you’re being a couch potato? We don’t think so.

Say NO to the Non- Sustainable Snuggie, and say YES to Mayu’s Freely Shipped, Fairly Traded Hand-Knit Alpaca Throw! Throw it on your dad, throw it on your mom, throw it on your couch, just make sure that your home doesn’t go without one!

Follow us via Twitter, our blog or Facebook! Happy Father’s Day!

[NO SNUGGIE ZONE]

Mayu has recently had the honor of being featured as one of the vendors on the True Fair Trade Marketplace. This website was created as a tool to stem the tide of Fair Trade impostors that have recently emerged online. When you shop on True Fair Trade, you can be assured that all of the products have surely been traded fairly. All of the businesses featured on TFT are members of the Fair Trade Federation (like Mayu) and/or the World Fair Trade Organization. You can find anything from apparel (like *cough* alpaca apparel), to chocolate, to jewelery and home decor. Clicking on any of the products will automatically take you to the online catalogue.

Check out this exciting new marketplace, and as always, check back with Mayu on Twitter, Facebook and our blog for the latest news about sustainability, eco-fashion, fair trade, international development and hand-knit alpaca!

Welcome back to our new series, Peace Corps Journals, which profiles Mayu’s friends who also served in Peru as Peace Corps volunteers. We are hearing again from Lindsey Carrrasco. This is Part 2 of her experience in the rural Peruvian Andes, in a community close to where Mayu’s artisans live. If you missed part 1, be sure to check it out to learn about the Peruvian Carnaval celebration. OK, lets hear about yummy Peruvian cheese. “Queso Fresco” from this region is well-known throughout Peru. Oh, how I miss “pan con queso”!

After graduating college my next journey took me to Peru with the Peace Corps.  I had never really lived on my own and didn’t technically have any REAL cooking abilities  (unless you count making macaroni and cheese or ordering pizza cooking).  When I arrived to Yanama, a small, rural village in the Andes Mountains I didn’t know what to expect.  There was another Peace Corps Volunteer named Brad living in Yanama and he worked with a family on improving their cheese business.  When he invited me to go with him to see how the cheese was made, I thought it would be interesting to see, little did I know that I would actually be making it!

When we arrived to the “puna” or mountaintop where his host family had their cheese factory, I was surprised to see that Pablo, Brad’s host Dad was waiting for us before he milked the cows.  Even though I had minimal cooking skills, I did know that cheese came from milk, I just didn’t think that I would be milking the cows!  That was an experience in itself.  First you have to wash the utters so that dirt doesn’t get into the milk and then you need to get the motion just right so that the milk flows freely.  It’s not necessarily a pulling up and down motion, you also have to squeeze slightly as you pull down.  I was able to milk the cow but not as quick and efficiently as Pablo could.  

After we finished milking the cow Pablo asked if I wanted to drink some of the fresh milk.  Now I remember a workshop during my Peace Corps training that discussed various medical and health issues volunteers should be aware of and one of them was drinking milk right from the cow.  It was supposed to be pasteurized or boiled first to avoid bacteria but I thought what’s one sip going to do?!  I tried it and it was gross!  I’m not a fan of warm milk.

The cheese making process is quite simple.  You boil milk, add salt and a rennet tablet (this helps the milk “gel”), strain the excess water and then place the cheese in chees presses.  The cheese has to sit and dry for a few days or even months, depending on how aged you like your cheese.  “Queso fresco” or fresh cheese is pretty tasty.

I have never made cheese since that day but I’m glad that I had the opportunity to learn how to do it.  It was an experience I’ll never forget.

Cheese Shop

Thank you for sharing, Lindsey. If you are excited about Peruvian food, don’t forget to check our blog for other posts on Peruvian delicacies as well as our favorite recipes. Also, follow us via RSS feed to hear about one more of Lindsey’s experience, find us on Twitter and become a Facebook Fan.

Happy Tuesday from Mayu!