News from the Q'ente Textile Revitalization Society
Aug/09/2011
World Indigenous People Day
August 9th is the United Nation's International Day of the World's Indigenous People, a day
dedicated to celebrating and recognizing the unique stories, cultures and identities of
indigenous people from all over the globe. This year, the theme of the event will be
Indigenous designs: celebrating stories and cultures, crafting our own future. This is
intended to draw attention to the need for preservation and revitalization of indigenous
cultures, especially their art and intellectual property. As a group dedicated to upholding
cultural and artistic integrity in the communities we work with, Q'ente is proud to be involved
in this important undertaking. Help Q'ente continue to be part of the solution by donating,
purchasing textiles, visiting our booth at our upcoming fairs in Victoria, or joining our
Facebook page!
Aug/01/2011
Lindsay Zibrik in Peru
Follow Education Generation Fellow Lindsay Zibrik in Peru!
Lindsay Zibrik and Kie Shiroma are currently in Peru to assess
and assist Mosqoy:Sacred Valley Youth Fund on behalf of Education Generation, one of
Mosqoy's supporters. During their two months in the field, Lindsay and Kie will complete
the Base Program for Education Generation fellows as well as a Focus Project. Lindsay's
Focus Project will see her continue to develop a collaborative volunteer service project
between Q'ente and Mosqoy. Follow Lindsay on her journey to each of Q'ente's partner
communities, learn about her experiences and witness the magic of Peru as seen through
her eyes. You can find her blog
at:
http://edgenfellow.blogspot.com.
Aug/01/2011
August 21st - Fibrations
Fibrations - On Sunday, August 21, from 10-4pm, St Ann's
Academy Orchard will play host to Victoria's first celebration of textiles and
fibre arts. The event will feature a marketplace, demonstrations, hands-on activities
and even an auction for your chance to win one of many beautiful hand-made textile pieces
or fibre arts supplies. Please visit:
www.fibrations.ca
for more details and a map to the grounds.
Aug/01/2011
August 13th - Passion For Tango
Victoria's 4th Annual Tango Festival is running from August
12-14, featuring an impressive lineup of tango and other latin music performers.
Come visit Q'ente as we take part in the festivals' market day on Saturday August 13th.
This free market at Centennial Square will feature yummy food, crafts and other goods
from all over Central and South America, as well as Africa, India and Canada.
The market will be open from 1:30 to 8:00pm. Please visit:
www.passion4tango.com
for more details.
Aug/01/2011
August 1st - Capital Festival
Q'ente will be participating in this year's celebration
of BC Day in our capital city! The event will run from 11am to 5pm on Monday,
August 1st, at St. Ann's Academy. Admission is free. For more information about
the event, please visit the Capital Festival website:
www.capitalfestival.com.
July/11/2011
2010 CTTC Tinkuy de Tejedores
Celebrating the Art of Weaving
An Overview of the CTTC’s Gathering of Weavers
Read article now
Jan/18/2011
Winter 2010-2011 Newletter
Sept/8/2010
Weaving Hope, A fundraising gala
Q'ente and Mosqoy jointly present Weaving Hope, a fundraising evening in support of both organizations. The evening will
feature keynote speaker Dr Nancy Turner, a renowned ethnobotanist and recipient of the Order of Canada, along with Peruvian
fusion hors d'oeuvres provided by Nourish, a silent auction and textile sale, and additional speakers.
The event will take
place at Glendale Gardens from 7-10pm (505 Qualey Road, Victoria BC).
Tickets are $50 and are available for purchase at Ten
Thousand Villages (1976 Oak Bay Ave), Glendale Gardens, The Green Party Community Resource Centre (247 Beacon Ave, Sidney BC), or online.
If you purchase your ticket online, there will be a $2 Paypal service fee. We will have your name and contact information at the door.
Sept/8/2010
Fair Trade in Peru - Joint presentation by Q'ente and Ten Thousand Villages
Maria Lyons, Manager of Ten Thousand Villages on Oak Bay Avenue, will be presenting photos and stories
from her recent Learning Tour, visiting artisans in Chulucanas, Lima and Cusco regions of Peru. She will
be joined by Sarah Confer who will be sharing her knowledge and experience of working with weavers in Cusco, Peru.
Doors open at 6pm, light refreshments will be provided. Presentations to start at 6:30.
St Philips Church,1928 Eastdowne Rd, V8R 5R8
Contact Ten Thousand Villages Oak Bay for more information: 250 598 8183
Sept/18-19/2010
WAM! World Art Market at the Museum of Anthropology (UBC)
The Museum of Anthropology is hosting its 1st Annual World Art Market (WAM!) this coming 18th and 19th of September, and Q'ente
has been invited to participate in this inaugural event! WAM! promises to be an exciting event featuring local and international
artists and non-profit societies, as well as several live performance events. Be sure to come visit us!
For further details, please visit the WAM! homepage:
http://www.moa.ubc.ca/world-art-market/index.php.
Find the Q'ente Society's profile page at:
http://www.moa.ubc.ca/world-art-market/item.php?item=713.
You can read the Q'ente Society's blog interview with WAM! here:
http://www.moa.ubc.ca/blog/2010/08/18/wam-q-and-a-with-qente-textile-revitalization-society/.
May/26/2010
Q'ente featured on international radio program Canada en las Americas
Click the link to listen to this Spanish-language interview that Q'ente vice president, Sarah Confer, had with Christian
Sida Valenzuela for Radio Canada International's program Canada en las Americas.
http://www.rcinet.ca/radio/index.php?language=es&type=program&media=audio&id=413
Apr/23/2010
Q'ente collaborator featured in Spring edition of Wild Fibers magazine
One of the Q'ente Society's collaborators, The Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco (CTTC),
was featured in a beautiful 15-page feature article in the widely-distributed magazine
Wild Fibers.
Click here to view a pdf copy of the article.
Apr/13/2010
5 Co-op opportunities for this summer now available!
Apply now for your next Co-op this summer 2010. Positions in Administration, Outreach, Grants and more.
Deadline: April 16th, 2010
We Offer:
- A fulfilling experience like few other Co-ops can offer
- A steep learning curve in your chosen field
- A chance to practise your Spanish
- A supportive and friendly work environment
- A team of hard working and committed colleagues, where everyone's input is welcome
- A high level of responsibility and decision-making, working in a growing international organization
- An opportunity to be creative and push your initiatives forward
- Plenty of networking opportunities
- And, most importantly, the opportunity to really make a difference.
So email us at
outreach@mosqoy.org for more information
Apr/13/2010
Q'ENTE and our partner MOSQOY, featured in April 2010 edition of The Ring newspaper.
Article by Patty Pitts titled 'Mosqoy means "to dream"'.
Interviews with our co-founder and president, our Mosqoy Ambassador from Peru and our volunteer coordinator.
Pick up a copy or read the article
online
Mar/26/2010
Q'ENTE and MOSQOY on The Martlet newspaper.
Q'ente and Mosqoy are featured in this week's edition of The Martlet. The
two-page article, titled 'Dream Weaver', includes interviews with Q'ente's director
and founder, Ashli Akins, as well as other Q'ente and Mosqoy staff and supporters.
Pick up a copy or read the article
online
Feb/05/2010
Free Public Lecture: "Transforming and Preserving Traditional Peruvian Mountain Cultures"
Ashli Akins, Director of Mosqoy and President of Q'ente, and Rolando, Mosqoy's
Student Ambassador, will share the indigenous traditions and lifestyles of
Quechua communities in the Sacred Valley of Peru, and the perpetual challenges
they face in trying to keep their culture alive. Rolando will share his experience
as first generation alum from Mosqoy and how a changing globalized world has impacted his community.
Where: At the beautiful Ceremonial Hall of the First People's House, University of Victoria
When: Friday, February 5th, 11:30-13:00
Before or after the lecture, stop by our Flood Relief Textile Fair to
help Mosqoy's partners to overcome the destruction caused by last week's flooding.
Feb/05/2010
Peru Flood Relief TEXTILE FAIR
Last week, floods in Peru destroyed the livelihood of thousands
of families in the Sacred Valley. Our weaving partners have lost
their market and the possibility of making a living. You can help
them directly by buying their beautiful traditional textiles. Organic;
Fair Trade; Natural Dyes.
100% of proceeds go to the Sacred Valley, Peru.
Where: Student Union Building, University of Victoria
When: Friday, February 5th, 2010
Please see our
poster for more details:
Feb/04/2010
Volunteer Orientation
Everyone welcome! Find out how you can help Mosqoy or simply join us to learn more about what we do.
We are currently looking for volunteers to help us with a wide variety of tasks:
translation, sales, events, creating promotional materials and more.
We also have some upcoming leadership opportunities.
We are having a potluck, so please bring some food/snacks for everyone to share.
Where: Student Union Building basement (follow the signs) University of Victoria
When: Thursday, February 4th, 7:30pm
Feb/02/2010
Flood News Update
As some of you already know, the Peruvian region of Cusco, where Mosqoy
and its partners operate, was last week declared a state of emergency, due
to the devastating effects of floods and mudslides that have killed at least
twenty people, left many more missing and destroyed the homes and livelihoods
of tens of thousands of locals.
There has been limited exposure of these events in Canadian and Western
media, most of which has focused on the evacuation of thousands of tourists
from Machu Pichu but neglected to comment on the situation of local Peruvians.
In view of this, Mosqoy has been trying to get in touch with all its students,
staff and partners to ascertain their well being, as well as to check on their
loved ones and their community. So far, the response has been positive and all
those involved with Mosqoy appear to be safe.
We will send more updates on the situation as soon as we hear more detailed
information and find out what Mosqoy can do to help.
In the mean time, we have attached some links to news stories if you wish to know more.
http://www.torontosun.com/news/world/2010/01/28/12654491.html
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/01/29/peru-flooding-evacuation.html
http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/01/26/peru-mudslide026.html
Dec/14/2009
Winter 2009 Newletter
Dec/07/2009
Update from the Field - Ashli's visit to Peru
Ashli has been in Peru since mid-August, and has been working tirelessly since her
arrival! And not without result: in addition to all her work with the current and
prospective Mosqoy students, she has made visits to three of our existing partner
communities, and laid the groundwork for seven new partnerships and a natural dye project!
News from our Current Collaborators - Visits to Amaru, Casa Ecológica and Awamaki
Dec/07/2009
Amaru
During this visit, Ashli met with Gregorio Sotalero,
the weaving association's director, to discuss the community's plans for this year's Q'ente
profit. They have decided to spend this money on sanitation upgrades - the construction of
composting toilets – and improvements to the kitchen facilities for each family, allowing the
stove smoke to be released through the roof rather than into the home. They plan to begin
construction in April.
Dec/07/2009
Casa Ecológica
Ashli's visit with this organisation's director, Franco Negri, was also
spent discussing their plans for their Q'ente profit this year. They decided the best thing
for this year would be to hire an optometrist to visit all the communities with which Casa
Ecológica works - deteriorating eyesight is an increasing health issue among campesino
weavers. Those who need glasses will receive them, also purchased with their money from Q'ente.
As this is a one-time endeavour, they further discussed a long-term project which future profit
from Q'ente textile sales will support, and it was decided that they would undertake a reforestation
project. This will aid the region not only from an environmental point of view, but will also
directly assist the community members who rely on this area for firewood for their cooking stoves,
and plants for their natural dyes.
Dec/07/2009
Awamaki
At Awamaki they are doing very well, and continue to establish excellent
social services for the weavers with whom they work in the Patakancha valley. Since both Q'ente
and Awamaki are interested in obtaining naturally dyed wool and in educating about the process
of natural dyeing with plants and insects, we've decided to join forces to create a collaborative
Textile Dye Project. Katie Larone, one of Mosqoy's volunteers who is going to Peru
for three months in October, will begin this project by working with the Patakancha weavers to plant
and maintain a dye garden. She, as well as subsequent Q'ente volunteers, will then be in charge of
learning the dyeing process, and winding the dyed wool into balls for sale in Canada. We will also
create dye kits, which will include all of the ingredients, mordants, and instructions for dyeing,
in packages for sale. The dye garden and lessons for Q'ente volunteers will encourage the continued
use of natural dyes over synthetic ones. The issue is that those who sell weavings in the tourist
markets cannot sell natural wools and dyes for more money than synthetic products, because tourists
don't always recognise the added work and value invested in the process; thus, many weavers are
economically forced to turn to synthetic alternatives.
Dec/07/2009
Q'ente Continues to Grow
Ashli has also begun to map out all the communities Q'ente currently reaches - and she was astonished to find out how extensive the area is! Not only do we work with communities covering almost the entire Sacred Valley, but our network also touches on the Mapacho river valley and the Ausangate mountain region.
Dec/07/2009
New Partnerships on the Horizon
A chance encounter in a medical clinic in Ollantaytambo has led to a potential collaboration with the office of Dr. Arnaldo. Intrigued and inspired by both Q'ente and Mosqoy, he proposed a partnership wherein Q'ente might supply his office with woven or knit baby clothes. Each campesino woman who visits the clinic would receive an outfit for her child, thus providing an incentive for the woman to have her health checked while also reducing infantile death due to exposure and respiratory problems. Q'ente is still working on the details of financing this venture, but we believe it would be a good offering of reciprocity to the village of Ollantaytambo.
One of the most exciting developments as Q'ente expands its network is the development at last of a plan for partnership with K'anchay Wasi. We have wanted to work with K'anchay Wasi for some time, but as they are not traditional weavers, the dilemma was always...how? It was decided that we would begin by purchasing traditional guantes (knit gloves) which they are being taught how to make by a fellow member of the group. With the profit they will earn from these sales through Q'ente, they would like to hire weaving instructors to develop their skills. Through further sales to Q'ente they will earn capital for their association, and will also help to further the textile tradition in a community where this tradition and even the language are almost completely lost. In addition to this, we are hoping to expand the Sacred Valley Youth Fund beginning in 2011, which would allow us to select two women each year from K'anchay Wasi to participate in that programme, and attend university.
K'anchay Wasi runs a similar support group in Calca as well, and here there are two women in the group who are fabulous weavers. Their innovative proposal was for these two to weave large mantas which the rest of the women would sew into wallets, purses, vests, etc, thus making each item as a group. They will prepare examples of each of their new products by March, at which time this new partnership will begin in full force.
Near Huaran, where K'anchay Wasi is located, is the community of Kancha Kancha. The Weaving Association of Kancha Kancha, which consists of 13 weavers, has agreed to a partnership with Q'ente, with the intention of using the profit from their first textile sales to purchase alpacas in order to be able to produce their own wool. Presently, the women make the four hour trek to Huaran daily to sell textiles in order to allow their children to attend school.
There is also a weaving association in Huaran itself, known as Munay Rupi de Huaran, and we are looking into forming a partnership with this group as well.
In addition to this, two communities in the Mapacho river valley are interested in working with us directly – Parobamba and Bombom . These two communities produce textiles of an excellent quality, but until now have had no market in which to sell them. We are very excited at the prospect of forming a partnership with them!
