Apu Runawana AssoCiation
of Amaru

Pisac, Peru

Kawsaypaq supports the Apu Runawana Assosiation of Amaru in varoius ways, from providng a space to sell their textiles in front of Pisac Inn, designing and featuring their textiles in the hotel décor, selling their textiles in the hotel store, buying their textiles for silent auctions to support the Kusi Kawsay at fundraising events in the United States, Canada and London, providing guidance on developing programs and cultural events for indigenous gatherings, guidance on maintaining their traditions, development of their cultural center, and designing and organizing authentic cultural exchange visits for tourism and volunteer student group experiences. Below is the story of a group of girls from the Madiera School who worked with the women of Amaru in a Development Project for their textiles to illustrate one such experience.

The Madeira School
Learnership

Pisac, Peru

Delight in a 45-minute drive into the majestic high Andes and walk through the patchwork fields to the traditional highland community of Amaru, where a genuinely authentic way of life is still practiced to this day. The Apu Runawana Weaving Association will welcome you with an endearing sweetness rarely felt in this day and age. This community is consciously preserving and practicing their ancestral heritage. Participate in an introduction circle, and open the connection by sharing coca leaves. The women will meditativley spin their naturally dyed wool, and set up their back strap looms for a weaving demonstration. An introduction to the ancestral concepts and basic weaving techniques will be shared. Enjoy a traditional lunch prepared with their prized agrarian products. Throughout the rest of the afternoon, continue to explore the ancestral values imparted in weaving, and understand how weaving is the central axis that represents and expresses Andean worldview. Participate in the activites to prepare the wool for spinning before ending the day with a group closure. Over the next few days help the women clean the wool in preparation for spinning, and learn how to spin with the women, an art that will lead you into their meditative space and take much practice to master.

The Madeira School
Learnership

Pisac, Peru

Help gather plants for dying the wool, exploring which plants will provide certain color tones, and hear stories of healing properties of specific plants. Through participation in communal work, a beautiful cultural exchange begins to unravel as you experience this incredible opportunity to step back in time and appreciate a quality of life with an admirable simplicity that is strikingly moving and profound. Asssit the women dye the wool, and be marveled at the natural chemical process as the colors reveal themslves. Begin documenting and gathering material such as photos, video, and recorded interviews. Initiate a collective brainstorming process to explore mission, vision and logo concepts with the women. In Pisac take some time to organize your thoughts, feelings and notes. Help set up the backstrop looms, and continue to practice spinning. Help with any basic agrarian and cooking tasks, and continue the documentation process.

The Madeira School
Learnership

Pisac, Peru

Start weaving! Learn the basic methods. Talk with the women about the language for defining the vision, mission, and goals to use for development of written project. Begin logo design, and start thinking about a website design. Develop a masterplan & goals for a business plan. Help determine costs and develop timeline in production of pieces. Begin brainstorming on textile designs that preserve traditional criteria, while discerning contemporary design adaptations to enter the marketplace with force. Develop a marketing strategy. Gather with the women to review, ask questions, and redefine, making adjustments including new insights gathered, and review with Fielding and Roman. Gathering with Amaru women for the final review of progress, and share thoughts on packaging and presenation, and ideas after your explortion of the market at a few upscale boutiques in Cusco.

Testimonial by Virginia Zhang

When I came back to the U.S. I told my family and friends my story, from landscapes, the people, and the food to my work with the Amaru community and Kusi Kawsay. I will never forget the tiny details in the way of thinking and doing there.

With every story I tell, another person here in the U.S. learns that happiness is not just receiving what we do not have, but also appreciating what we already have.

I grew up in the suburbs of Northern Virginia (near Madeira) and had every educational and entertainment opportunity I could want. But how could I really become a citizen of the world? When I got the chance to travel, I chose to explore different people’s lifestyles and values, instead of playing “the tourist” and just traveling for fun. So last summer, when I arrived at Miami Airport while returning to the U.S. from Peru, the change from being in a warm, colorful environment to a structured, commercial one was overwhelming. Why weren’t the people around me talking to each other? Why so much junk food? Why were there armed security officers at every gate? Coming back from such an organic community, I felt like an outsider in the U.S. for my first time.

Testimonial by Virginia Zhang

This was the environment I grew up in, but was it the right place for me?

I see that the relationships between people are shaped by their surroundings. I could’ve easily gotten caught in a world of competition and materialism in the U.S. Last summer I was so happy to be in a place where the spirit of Pachamama is shown through every kind thought and interaction. Even the smallest gestures I received in Pisac made an unforgettable impact on me.

Roman: Whether in Pisac Inn, on the terraces, or at Machu Picchu, Ingrid, Marina, Kelleen, Danielle and I always knew that we were going to hear another amazing story from you.

Fielding: Your journey to find another home far from what you had previously known has proven to me that what I can make for myself after graduating from Madeira is limitless.

It seems that though every place I will go will be so different, friendship and humility are common languages.

Testimonial by Virginia Zhang

In the world I grew up in, happiness must be earned through success, and trust is never given to strangers. Spending my time with you in your environment was the release I needed. I’ve traveled a lot in my life, but southeast Peru was the only place I’ve been to where I really found what makes me happy.

There are ways to reach out beyond the temporary joy that comes from material things. When I was with the warm community in Pisac, I asked myself: I can have all the money and success in the world, but compared to someone who has the love of his community, who is actually the rich one? Even though I only spent two weeks in the Andes, I’ve grasped this important point. There’s so much value in the things that money can’t buy.

What I learned from just two weeks in the Andes inspired me so much. I’ve even written my college application essay on my thoughts during Kusi Kawsay’s Exposición de Trabajos day. Very recently (on May 29 this year), I graduated from Madeira (with Marina, Ingrid, and Kelleen). Moving forward, I will try to close the distance between myself and others, not separate myself from the unknown. I will remember this as I begin the next four years in a new city, with new friends from all over the world, and study what makes me happy.