ancient traditions

the  program, last night,  at the Victoria Handweavers’ and Spinners Guild was presented by Ashli Akins

a young woman with a vision, a mission and an impressive ability to tell the story of the Quechua communities of the Andean mountains

through the non-profit organization she founded

  MOSQOY

Ashli, along with a team of volunteers is making a difference

read their story at http://www.mosqoy.org

they are choosing to support culture and tradition

not change the  customs of the people

each weaving tells a story

woven on primitive tools, with local alpaca and wool

softly dyed with colours from native plants

and cochineal for red

the weavings are exquisite – even more so when touched

but – they are being forced out of their small market by enterprising entrepreneurs who are copying the designs substituting man made yarns and chemical dyes

polluting the planet in the process

and charging the tourists a fraction of the price

 even more alarming , the next generation are not learning the weaving skills as they can’t support their families with their textiles

if each of us helped – just a tiny bit – the culture, traditions and techniques might survive into the next century

please visit http://www.mosqoy.org