THE Arequipa project
MY JOURNEY
My trip began with a visit to Arequipa, where my grandfather is from. It was only my second time in the city and felt very exciting and thrilling. I loved the atmosphere in this city and how lovingly the people treated each other and the animals. I then set off with a driver and the coordinator of the various llama breeders up to 4800m into the mountain world of the Andes. I was able to see many free-living alpacas and vicuñas, which also belong to the llama family and are kept in the mountains for their wool. Our destination was the farm in Patacollana, a place that cannot be found on most maps and belongs to the Condoroma district in the province of Espinar-Cusco.
Back in Arequipa, we then visited the wonderful ladies, who were in a good mood as they spun, dyed and knitted the wool for the sweaters and showed me various possibilities.
It was all very inspiring. I am proud to present Maqu's first Made in Arequipa sweater and to be able to support this original and sustainable production method and thus the livelihood of the people in the mountains.
The most heartwarming moment was the visit to the local school. We met some of the children and saw how tight the money is for the families who live there. I remembered the big dreams I had as a pupil and student. Back then, these dreams seemed unattainable to me. Now I feel grateful and in awe of how far I have come since then and my dreams seem closer to reality. Therefore, in addition to the seamstresses, we also want to directly support these children with their dreams.
Our goal
When you buy one of our sweaters, you help to give the school children in Arequipa joy and a good start in the world. For every sweater you buy, we give 5% of the purchase price to the school to buy important learning materials for the children. It is perhaps hard to imagine what an incredibly positive impact a blank notebook and pencils alone can have. I then remembered the world that developed in my notebooks and how I wrote down everything important - everything I needed to know and everything that was on my mind.
Let us share our love for beauty in the world with the children in Arequipa! Every sale will make a big contribution. If you would like to donate more, that would of course be fantastic. We can't wait to go on this trip and show you the results of this project...
