Weaving Weekend in Patacancha

March 29-31 Day 5-7
I left on Friday morning with a group of 7 other ladies for a 3 day workshop in the mountains in the town of Patacancha. The hour-long drive up the mountain is breathtaking and a little nerve-racking at times as it is a small twisty road. I was told if the road was really bad in spots because of the rain that our driver would have us get out of the "combi" (van-like taxi) so I tried not to be anxious but I've never been a big fan of heights. We made it up to Patacancha without any difficulty and were given a tour of the small town and impressive health clinic that was built by an NGO a few years ago. They had a small very basic operating room and also a few clinic rooms for shots and basic healthcare. We split up into two's and were introduced to the local families we would be living with for the next few days. I roomed with a girl named Megan that is taking a gap year before college. Our family was very outgoing. The dad spoke Spanish as well as the children while the mom only spoke Quechua which is normal for Patacancha. They asked if I spoke Quechua to which I laughed and said I hardly speak Spanish! Quechua is a very difficult language. Just saying hello is a task! Anyways, after a lunch of soup we started our first 3 hour weaving lesson. My teacher, Rudecinda, was very patient with me and liked to smile and laugh, which was great because thats about the only form of communication we had in common besides the words arriba (up) and abajo (down) when she told me which threads to pick up and drop for my weaving pattern. I started with a simple bracelet that only took me about an hour to make and then a headband that was also not a complicated pattern. The second day I wanted to try to make a pallay which is the icongraphic pattern that is woven into the vertical or warp threads of Andean textiles. Pallay means to pick up in Quechua. It is a VERY difficult and slow process. The women all wear a shawl or blanket over their shoulders showing off their pallay skills. Most of these textiles take about 5 months to complete! The designs represent the surrounding landscapes and colors tell of hardships and prosperity. Much of Quechua history has been passed down through textiles instead of literature and remains a very important part of their culture. Most of the men in Patacancha have to leave the small town and find work elswhere leaving the women to take care of the many children and everything else at home. This has unfortunately not left much time for them to continue weaving and an ancient craft and form of history is being lost. Awamaki recognizes the importance of Quechua weaving and has created a center for women to teach classes and sell their textiles providing them an income of their own and a reason to keep weaving.
Patacancha is quite poverty stricken, although I am sure that there are many places in the mountains that are even worse off. It is EXTREMELY COLD here in the night and the house do not have any source of heat. They do however have "Peruvian" blankets, which if you have never experienced one before are the most incredibly heavy blankets I have ever felt. I had a roommate in college who told me she had a fear of blankets and I thought she was insane but now I may have some idea what she was talking about. I slept in 4 layers of long sleeved shirts and 2pairs of socks and about 5 of these blankets and it was still chilly! Once under the covers you better be in a comfortable position because good luck try to move under all that weight. I unfortunately move around a lot in my sleep and once I kicked the blankets off the bed I was too tired and they were too heavy to pull up again in my sleep. So needless to say I think that 2 nights there was plenty. I am in awe of the people that live there everyday. The women wear skirts only (often up to 5 at a time to keep warm and share their fertility status) and sandals. Hygiene is not a priority, I didnt see a single shower there. Women wash their hair in dirty water in a bucket and live in houses with dirt floors. Children run around in very little clothing and barefeet in the cold with cheels that are red and burned from the intense weather. It is an immensly hard life these people live each day and yet they seem to be very happy to have what the do. The dad I was staying with said he was very happy to work in the fields and often works all over the Sacred Valley whenever he can find work.
I spent my next 2 lessons, a total of 6, hours working on my pallay and was happy to finish it before leaving. I made a fairly simple pallay in relation to the crazy details the women have in their own textiles. I definitely appreciate the art of hand-weaving much more now. Most things you find in the store are done on a machine because people to not want to pay the high price of a textile that took months to create. I purchased a scarf that took a month to make and even though the price was high in Soles, it seemed like a ton of work for the price in dollars. The woman was happy to sell it and I will remember this weekend everytime I look at it.
In addition to weaving, a few of us decided to go on a hike early Saturday morning. Since it was still my first week in Peru and only second day in that high of an altitude i figured I'd go and see how far I made it. The altitude got the best of me about an hour and a half in and I decided it was best to turn around and head back to town. I went back down the mountain and crossed over the "white river" where I sat for awhile and enjoyed the scenery. A few locals passed by and stopped to chat, many of them asking if I wanted to walk with them. One was named Victor who had a boombox playing Spanish music. he was very interested in knowing where I was from and just when I thought I may have to sit and listen to his radio for the next hour he got up said "chow" and was on his way again. Another group came by on their way up to a small town with a mom carrying a baby in the blanket on her back, a few kids, and two puppies chasing eagerly behind. When the got to the river crossing the mom picked up both puppies by their front legs and hauled them across where she just dropped them to their feet and they continued climbing up the steep hill. I sat for a while longer before heading back to town and taking a long and much needed nap before class.
On our final day in Patacancha they made us a "Pachamanca" lunch which is cooked in a hole dug in the ground over hot rocks and kindle that is then covered by earth. We had chicken, sweet potatoes, fried plantines and green beans. It was a nice break from rice and potatoes and was really cool to see food being cooked undergound essentially. After lunch we loaded back into the combi and headed down the mountain. It rained a bit but the roads were good and the drive back to Ollanta was quick. We stopped for a few pictures at a church and small town on the way back, complete with people selling the biggest carrots I have ever seen in my life!
When I got home my homestay mom was back from Lima and I got to meet her for the first time. Her name is Ruth and she greeted me with a big kiss on the cheek and kindly let me excuse myself for a much needed shower. I talked with her for a bit afterwards and then went off to meet dome friends for coffee at La Esquina which is on the corner in the Plaza. It's been a busy first week and I'm excited to settle in this next week and explore the town and get started on my projects for Awamaki.

Learning to weave pallay from my teacher Rudecinda

Crazy amount of detail. This piece took 5 months to make!

Gorgeous hike in the mountains

Cutest kids ever. They walked around and held hands most of the day while their moms taught us how to weave. Don't worry I had their mom's permission to take a picture.