Awamaki
Building Sustainable Economic Opportunities for Quechua Women Artisans
Fast Facts
Peru
David Fletcher and Teresa Iglesias
2025
Job Training
How Awamaki Is Making a Difference
Awamaki was founded in 2009 to support a cooperative of 10 women weavers crafting products from handspun alpaca yarns and living in the highlands of Peru, a deeply underserved region where nearly 50% of the population lives in poverty.
Awamaki today recognizes that, as consumer interest in ethical and eco-conscious products continues to grow, support of these cooperatives generates more sales and job creation in the local communities and builds financial independence for the indigenous women artisans they serve.
The Work of Awamaki
- Provides vocational training to help weavers attain yarn consistency and efficiently apply sustainable dyeing techniques with natural colorants to improve the quality of finished products.
- Trains indigenous women to build their financial independence.
- Promotes sustainable tourism programs that generate more sales and job creation in the local communities.
- Offers training in entrepreneurship and marketing to help connect the artisans with global export opportunities.
Initiatives Supported by Project Redwood
2025: $30,000 to support Awamaki’s training program, focusing on quality instruction and effective utilization of other resources to meet export standards for alpaca yarn and create long-term business potential for indigenous women. The grant also supports the provision of food assistance and transportation costs to enable participants to remain in the program.