Denisia Pereira's Page

We got all dressed up in the women's outfit and we danced with the women.Then after dancing with the women and children, I said my goodbyes to everyone, especially the little one Natalie, who I will miss a lot :(Lastly, said goodbye to Raquel who made everything possible for us while we were there.. Many thanks to her :)See More

After we looked at the past few blogs - prepping the yarn and the materials used to dye the yarn, today we will look at the actual process to dye the yarn.1) First the women prepare the fire and then boil the water:2) Then the women prepare the dye, by adding the flowers or leaves to the boiling water, which is allowed to sit for 10 mins3) The powder is added depending on what is required for the colour (refer to part 2 for which materials are required for what colour). The colour fixative,…See More

Today we will look at the different materials used to dye the yarn...We saw how the cochinea was grounded last week to make the final red powderTo the red colour, they add Sal de Limo, which helps to change the colours to burgundy, dark red, etcTo red and other colours (except for blue), they add a colour fixative called Piedra LumbreFor the colour yellow, the women use flower ccolle (dried up) which can be found in their community.. before it is dried it looks like thisAfter its dried, ccolle…See More

Hello again,Today I spent most of the day with the women, who were making yarn samples for me to take back to Canada. Raquel helped me organize the process and every woman made a bundle of the yarn of 50 gms, after which we dyed the yarns in different colours.Here are pictures of the day.. Enjoy :)Talking to Raquel the organizadora, telling her the thickness of the strand that is required for the yarn.Each women taking turns to making the 50gm bundles,Another way to bundle the yarn:After making…See More

Apomipe is a local NGO that works with the women, helping them along with Planeterra on their textile production skills, marketing, etc. They visit the women every tuesday, and we decided to have a meeting between Planeterra, Apomipe and the women, to figure out the logistics of the project.Apomipe translating everything that we say in Quechua to the ladies.PlaneterraThe women telling us their concerns and questions..They brought us lunch..Everyone taking a break to eat.. it was really yummy!See More

Visited along with a tour group before we spent some quality time with the women afterExplaining how they spinShowing how they dye with clay pots on wood firesWhere the colours come from:Colour orange from the flowerColour green from the leavesColour red from Cochinea (insects from the cacti)Now we switched to aluminum pots, we wanted to see the difference in the quality of the yarn between clay pots and aluminum.Rahkel making a bundle of the yarn to dyeAluminum has red dye, clay has green…See More