Soft accessories made of baby alpaca wool
Knitting for a better life
A piece of newspaper is fixed at the back of the lampshade. “… to make sure that the light does not wake up the children while I am working”, says Judith, a 23-year-old woman. Together with her husband and her two little daughters, she is living in a corrugated-iron hut on the outskirts of Lima. There is nothing in this place to remind her of the green meadows of her home community in the mountains. “I came to the city to earn money for my mother and my eight brothers”, says Judith. But when she got children, she lost her job in a fast-food restaurant. Then a neighbour told her about the knitware label Suy Suy. Judith was immediately convinced that this was the right thing. “Knitting is a tradition in my home community. I was six when I learnt it from my mother.” The child-focused organisation Plan supports the project in which 200 Peruvian women have joined together by now. The term “Suy Suy” originates from the language of the indigenous people and means “born out of colour”. The groups of the knitters have illustrious names as well. They are called “Awai Makis” – “knitting hands”, or “Warmikallpa” – “women power”. The women meet in three afternoons per week. In the remaining time, they work at home. “This makes life easier”, says Judith and watches her two-year-old daughter Cinthya, who is throwing a crumpled ball into the air. “Sometimes, even my husband helps me”, Judith says and laughs. “You know, he is very skilled in sewing up the threads.”
The Incas considered clothes made of alpaca wool as a sign of wealth. Therefore, alpacas were also called “cattle of the gods”. The wool of the peaceful animals is fine, soft, it does not scratch and it feels silky on the skin. FÜR SIE designed the soft and cuddly winter accessories made of pure baby alpaca wool in cooperation with Plan International.
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