Mosqoy Update 1:
From Cusco, Peru

Part One - Youth Bank:

I am living with the 20 students in their house, which is interesting to say the least! I am tentatively planning on spending a few days in a hostel, just to have a little space to myself. The house is wonderful, and spacious enough for everyone to live in comfortably. They had no furniture, other than their bunkbeds, standing to eat and lying on their beds to do their homework, so today I went with a few of the students to buy a big table and three long benches to sit on. In total, they cost about $40, and were much needed.

I have spent most of my week stressed and feeling like a mother of teenagers, worried about the well-being of these students in Cusco, living on their own much like in a dormitory, and having to be quite independent - much different than their little town of Ollantaytambo. There were many tears, trying to tell myself that it is not my responsibility if they make bad decisions; it is only my responsibility to make sure their living situation and education is paid for and going well. I have set up some rules for communication, behavior, and dedication, for both the students and the coordinators here. So we'll see how that goes.

All the students take turns cooking, and they cook breakfast lunch and dinner for all 20 students, rising at 5 am to have a communal breakfast. They don't have a fridge but do have a little campstove on the ground, and cook all of their traditional foods that they grew up learning to cook: extravagant slow-cooking soups, different dishes of potatoes, corn, and ava beans. They don't buy anything, and even chipping in 5 soles ($1.75) a week for the food bill is a stretch for some. But none of them ever complain or want more, and their parents are so willing to bring food from the chakras. If I hadn't bought the table and chairs, they never would have asked.

They're struggling with their English, so I started teaching them in the afternoons - had the first lesson on Thursday. It went incredibly well and everyone was very gung-ho, asking a lot of questions. It's difficult for them to keep their grades up, in comparison to the rest of the students, because their education in their high school was so poor. They were never taught English, and the other classes were often not taught by dedicated professors. I've had some pretty heart-felt conversations with some students who are working really hard, and so worried that they won't meet the standards.

There are still 5 students who are studying this year who are awaiting sponsors, but I think we will be able to find them before the year is up. We will be selecting the next group of students next week, but have reduced the number to 10, as it is very difficult to find money for all the students' tuition and housing for three years. We want to give this opportunity to students every year, but our priority right now is to be able to have enough funds to carry this first group of students all the way through their degree.

Being here, with the students, is such an amazing feeling though, despite the problems and stresses that have arisen. To see their entire lives laid out here in this house, their schedules and early mornings going to school, their parents visiting them and bringing huge bags of food for everyone from the family farm - it is incredible to realize this wntire life I'm watching is due to Mosqoy, and less than one year ago, all of these families hadn't even dreamed of this as the next step in their child's life.

Part Two - Proyecto Colibri: textiles sustainability project

I have met up with Virginia, who is a weaver from the community of Chinchero who now lives in Tika Tika, a suburb of Cusco so that her eldest sons can go to university. I was given her contact through a friend who was taught the art of weaving from Virginia. Virginia is a wonderful woman full of smiles who is so excited to be a part of the project. She has 8 children, so she accepts any extra sales she can get and truly believes in the art of weaving as a valued tradition, so her whole family is eager to have heard about Mosqoy. I visited her family in her little mud house in Tika Tika, and they are all very welcoming. We have set up weaving lessons for next week, a few hours every day, taught in the courtyard of where she sells her weavings. She has offered to teach me the value of the symbols and colors, the skills involved, and she and her family have both agreed to be photographed and interviewed as a part of my research regarding the loss of the textiles tradition.

One of my main goals coming here was to find more local revitalization projects that were supporting a wider range of textiles communities, as one of the main objectives of Proyecto Colibri is to revitalize the tradition in the Sacred Valley through providing a network of local organizations that support this cause. As a re-cap of Proyecto Colibri, I sell the weaving for triple that I buy it for. The fund are divided into thirds: 1) directly to the weaver, 2) to the local textiles revitalization project of which the weaver is a part, 3) to the Youth Bank.

Before coming here, I had two local projects that I am still working with: CATCCO Museum and Casa Ecologica. We are currently trying to make some more agreements and textiles sales. In addition, though, I have found two more potential projects in other communities I do not yet have access to:

One is called Kanchay Wasi and is located in Calca, between Ollantaytambo and Cusco. This is a center for battered women and children who can no longer live at home due to violence and who are struggling financially. It is a grassroots organization run by the sounds of it by one local woman. They have a textiles store in the nearby town of Urubamba to support them. I tried to find Lili, the woman in charge, but I could not when I last trekked around the town. I hope to eventually connect with this project though, as one of the local revitalization projects for Colibri.

The other potential project to connect with is a store in Cusco called "De Chalinas y Chullos" (or "Of Scarves and Toques"). This store is based on the ecological value in the textiles tradition and works with communities that are very far away and difficult to get to. Its goal is to revitalize the connection that the weavers have with the land, through educating about plants, natural dyes etc, to the weavers who no longer use these in their textiles.

I am still working with a few independent weavers who are not a part of a revitalization project. Therefore, the funds from these weavings are divided into halves until we can find one central project to donate that third third to. Right now, I do not want to organize this third, as it is difficult to get the Youth Bank established but I eventually need to, as it is unfair to the weavers if the 1/3s are not split equally. There is a beautiful orphanage here called Casa Milagros (House of Miracles) that is the home of orphans all over the Sacred Valley. It is run incredibly smoothly but obviously is struggling funds-wise. My idea is to use this as the central project for the few independent weavers to donate their 1/3 third to, to create a fund for the post-secondary education for these orphans after they are 18 and have nowhere to go. I spoke to two of the weavers about this idea (for the future, not right now) and they said they would be honored if that third of their textiles sales went to that house.

On a personal note, I was completely honored yesterday because Norberta and Alfredo, friends of mine, asked me to be the godmother to their 7-year-old son. Here, spiritual families are as important as nuclear families and, as "commadre", the duty is not to be their guardian if their parents pass away as it is often in Canada, but simply to be a part of the family, and a part of the child's life, as a mentor and someone who cares. It is a huge honor and to accept this invitation, there is a big ceremony with family and friends, followed by a party at their house. I said yes.

It has only been one week! I believe that is all for now regarding Mosqoy. I will update next week.

-Ashley
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Mosqoy Update 2:
Saturday May 19 - Friday May 25

Part One - Youth Bank for the Future

I believe I left off when I had had a complete mental breakdown with the responsibility and stress of the students involved in Mosqoy. I decided to change my mindset around and give myself a couple days rest to un-immerse myself so that I could regroup and remember why I was doing this project. Saturday night I took the 7 students who hadn't gone home to Ollantay out to a movie in a cafe downtown, just so we could all enjoy each other's company and have a night off. They all really enjoyed it.

On Sunday I packed my things and spent two nights in a hostel downtown, to regroup and get myself back on track so that I could have a bit more patience and passion for Mosqoy when I returned. I had a wonderful couple of days off, dancing salsa, enjoying the Sacred Valley and cooking for myself. But while having my little 2-day vacation, I was reminded that I was actually doing what I loved, was trying to make a difference, and had a purpose for being here. I became bored with the "doing nothing" mentality very fast. It's amazing how just stepping outside of your work for a second can remind you why you ever started it in the first place.

Tuesday I re-connected with the students and have been sleeping at their house ever since. Each night I help them with their English homework, and give them an English lesson. All of them are begging for more lessons as they all failed their last English test not for lack of trying but because they had such poor education in Ollantaytambo and were not prepared compared to the other students in their classes. So I've spent most of my free time, till midnight each night, trying to get them up to speed.

While in the hostal I met a girl who was travelling here from San Francisco who is now going to be their English tutor for the next two weeks when I am not here (this week and next week). Their next exam is on the 6th, so they are all so excited that there is someone to help them prepare for it. Jessie came to the house with me last week and they were all so grateful.

On Wednesday I had a much needed meeting with the directors of Mosqoy. Raul came from Ollantaytambo to the students' house in Cusco (now dubbed "Casa Mosqoy") and Alex and Geronimo, the supervisors who live in the house, attended the meeting. I set out very strict rules regarding communication and student selection, as well as explained that the funds are not as easy to come by as they think so they must communicate with me at all times before promising a student that he/she can study (as was the situation last year). We also made two very important agreements: one, that we will only select 10 students this year as the 2nd group, and two, that the Peru Mosqoy people (directors and students) are in charge of raising $2000 per year as a group. These two agreements were key for me as I am so worried that I will not be able to find enough funds each year to support all the students. Also, my first priority is to guarantee that the students already enrolled and studying will have the opportunity to finish their studies. After this meeting, we solved several communication issues, and planned the next selection process which will take place this coming week in Ollantaytambo. There was much more discussed as it was a 2-hour meeting, but knowing the point-by-point minutes is irrelevant.

On Thursday, I planned a mandatory student meeting to discuss the same rules, regulations and future plans as were agreed upon the night before. We discussed that the students will now have to organize themselves into fundraising groups and promote the project in hotels, tour agencies, etc. We also explained the selection process, situations if there is a lack of funding, and the support from their sponsors, so that they all know that it is crucial to remain dedicated. In addition, I made very clear, with a few tears, that I feel unbelievably responsible for their futures. I explained that I want more than anything for them to accomplish their dreams and that it is so beautiful to be able to see them actually living their futures here in Cusco because of Mosqoy. But that, with that, comes a feeling of responsibility for their well-being. I gave them a sex-talk and told them they must be very careful with their boyfriends and girlfriends as it is the first time in the city, and explained that they have now given a 3-year commitment to this project, to follow their dreams and work hard. They were all very patient and attentive, and respected me during the long list of rules and fears!

In the meeting, we also discussed the next year's group, and these students want to act as mentors. They were very excited to come to Ollantay to talk to the high school students about their experiences in the institute and the house, and to help in the selection process, as well as help mentor the students once they are selected. It makes me feel relieved that in each future year, there will be people to look out for each other and inspire each other. Each year will become much smoother. It's just the beginning.

Part Two - Project Colibri

This project is just skyrocketing! It's quite exciting how, immediately when a weaver or a local project hear about Mosqoy, they want to become involved.

I began my weaving lessons with Virginia on Monday. I met her in the courtyard where she and her fellow weavers work to sell their weavings, so we sat on the grass in the sun each day. The first day, she taught me how to prepare and warp the backstrap loom, and I learned the simple x's and o's pattern to make a "chumpi" or belt. I finished my first, and very small belt on Tuesday after about 5 hours of weaving. They preparation of the loom as well as the pattern are difficult to remember, but the actual moves and process of weaving was much easier than I thought to pick up. Tuesday evening, after my lesson, Virginia invited me to come to her house for dinner so we went to the market (where we passed the most dispicable meat market I have ever seen and smelled) to buy corn for dinner. I visited her family in Tika Tika, which is a small community at the top of one of the mountains overlooking Cusco. The family was so welcoming and automatically made me a part of their lives, and are excited to be one of the independent weavers that I will be working with in the future for Mosqoy.

Thursday was my last weaving lesson, and I began a thicker belt with a more complicated x's and o's pattern. I have finished about 7 inches of that chumpi, and will continue working on it independently, hopefully using it for exhibits and presentations now that I can actually demonstrate the process. I wrote down each step of the pattern so that I won't forget it in the future, so I am not technically learning the oral tradition, I guess! Learning how to weave, if only just a bit, was so important in acknowledging the vast amount of indigenous knowledge that goes into each pattern, which goes back centuries. The time and patience it takes to weave on a backstrap loom is one thing - and a tourist like me could learn how to do so if they so choose, but having the memory and knowledge somewhere imbedded in one's mind and heart, and choosing to have this as your entire life, is another - completely separate - art.

The new project "De Chullos y Chalinas" is more than I had in mind. I had a meeting with Elvis, one of the two young men who have begun this project, to explain Mosqoy and ask if they would like to be one of our local textiles revitalization projects. We met everyday that week with more ideas and things to get done to coordinate the projects' collaboration, and began to love what they were trying to do. They only work with the communities that are very far away and still rely entirely on the textiles tradition (and therefore tourism, through selling in markets), and their idea is to sustainably combine the Andean traditions with the modern development. Their name means "Of Toques and Scarves" and the significance is as follows: Chullos, or toques (hats) are traditional attire that have been a part of the Andes since the Inca while Chalinas, or scarves, were introduced by different mixes of cultures over the years. Now, both are sold and woven all over the Sacred Valley with the values and symbols of the Quechua people. So, through this name, Elvis and Hugo hope to connect the old and the new, while respecting both.

I bought several weavings from them to begin with, and they will continue as the 3rd project in which Project Colibri now supports!

Kanchay Wasi, the other project that I mentioned last time that I was hoping to get more information on (the battered women's centre), is difficult to find, but I finally got in contact with their founder who is eager to meet with me before I leave and is hoping to be a part of the project. I love their objectives and I just hope that their weavings are of good enough quality to be able to sell in Canada, as they are just teaching some of the younger women to weave, as a means of being independent. I hope to meet with Lily Calderon next week.

Casa Ecologica and CATCCO are the two projects that have always been a part of Mosqoy. I finally met with Franco, the director of Casa Ecologica last week, and we are negotiating the purchases of many toques and mantas, though it's a long process, since his business is quite big and well underway.

I found out from Franco that Casa Ecologica's third of the Mosqoy profits do not go into the business, but instead are saved up to help specifically in each weaving community. Mosqoy's funds are the only non-profit part of Casa Ecologica. So, with the $700 that I sent him last year from the textiles sales, he was able to buy 3 big looms for the community of Amaru (which is a weaving community above Pisac). On Saturday, I met 4 of the weavers from Amaru, but before I even knew who they were they smothered me with hugs and kisses and gracias, and invited me to come to their pueblo to see first-hand the difference I made. I had no idea. Tomorrow I am going to Amaru to see the weavers and their new looms!

On Friday, I attended a full-day Anthropology workshop in Calca thinking that it would help a lot with my field studies course as well as with the textiles project. But it was very boring and I did not gain much from the day. I was the only one who came to the center, and basically just listened to the knowledge of this woman as she told me about the Andean rituals, myths, medicinal plants, and textiles symbols, almost all of which I was privileged to experience first-hand the year before. But I did learn the latin names of some plants, and a few more textiles symbols. I also was given terrible food poisoning from what I thought was a delicious lunch. I am still suffering a bit from that, which was three days ago.

I am now in Ollantaytambo, and will be here for the whole week to enjoy Fiesta Choquekillca, to visit my friends and family here, and to select the next group of students.

Take care, Ashley. ("Fresita" here)
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Mosqoy Update 3:
Sunday, May 27 - Saturday, June 2, 2007

Part One - Youth Bank:

Beautiful Ollantaytambo. I was able to spend almost the whole week here enjoying the festival and visiting family and friends from the year before. The festival was amazing, of course, and lasted until Tuesday evening.

On Wednesday, about 7 or 8 of the Mosqoy students from Cusco came to Ollantaytambo to talk with the high school students here about their experiences in their institutes and with the project. We had our first reunion with the high school students wednesday, where we made application forms, rules and consent forms to sign, and where we discussed what Mosqoy entailed. About 55 students applied. We are only choosing 10 for the following year. That afternoon we reviewed the applications and narrowed it down to 25 students, 15 girls and 10 boys. It was actually quite difficult to find enough deserving male students, as there were many more females who showed dedication and innovative ideas.

Thursday we had our 2nd reunion with the students, and announced who had been pre-selected. However, several of the students who were selected did not show up, and several who were not did attend the meeting, so we will re-vamp our selection to make sure that we have chosen the most dedicated and mature students with the strongest dreams for their future. Tomorrow, I am talking with the director to obtain the students' marks and on Tuesday we will choose the final 10, with a waiting list of another 10. The current students are helping tons with the selection process, and are so excited to see who will be a part of the next group. I think some of the current students will be great mentors.

I returned to Cusco on Thursday evening for a couple of days, and while there, I finally connected with the director of Kanchay Wasi (the centre for battered women and children in Calca). I will discuss in Part 2 what that entails for Proyecto Colibri, but I have wonderful news regarding the Youth Bank. Lily Calderon (the director) who is from Calca, loves the objectives of Mosqoy, and she has volunteered her time to come give some classes on sexual education to the students in Cusco. I told her about my worries and since her expertise is working with women and children, especially regarding reproductive health, she is going to come to their house in Cusco for three Thursdays in a row, first to meet with the female students, then the male students, then all together. I think this will help so much as she is a wonderful lady, and very knowledgable, and at the same time young, Peruvian, and very easy to talk to so I think the students will confide in her and be able to ask questions.

Part Two - Proyecto Colibri:

Wow...I wish my parents were here to introduce them to some of the amazing people I have met because of the textiles project. Probably my most memorable day thus far has been my trip to Amaru, one of the small textiles communities that I am working with, above Pisac. This is the community that purchased three big looms for weaving because of the money they received from the Mosqoy textiles sales. They invited me to see the looms and to get to know their community, so I spent all of Tuesday with them.

The landscape is just breathtaking, rising higher and higher into the rolling Andes, where less and less stone houses appear. When I got to the house, around 20 weavers were awaiting my late arrival and stood up and applauded when I came in! They were using the loom for the first time, all in awe of how it worked, and taking way longer than on their backstrap looms as they needed to get accustomed to it. They made a huge feast of Lisa soup, potatoes, and guinea pig. I ate the soup, apologized that I couldn't eat the guinea pig, and ate 2 potatoes to be polite, getting quite sick that night. But I felt so honored and was not about to waste their food that they had made especially for me. Afterwards Gregorio - the director of their weaving association - gave me a tour of their chakra (farm) which was the most innovative and sophisticated that I have seen in the campesino villages of Peru.

Amaru has nothing - no bathroom, no modern amenities - and yet they have made a completely sustainable and organic farm that can provide for all of the families in their association. They have a greenhouse where they grow tomatoes, artichokes, and other fruits and veggies. They have a composting system, and three different types of dirt that they mix together from different areas to create the most healthy soil. In addition, they have a garden where they are growing potted plants starting with seeds, for all of the plants that they use for dying their wool. Their goal is to replenish every plant that they use for tinting, eating, or medicine, so as not to demolish the earth. For them, Pachamama has given them life and as a thank you, they must reciprocate this gift. By the garden where all the baby potted plants are growing is the medicinal garden, where they grow eucalyptus and several other types that can cure virtually every cut or illness that they encounter. They also have made a beautiful outdoor gazebo with a fireplace in the middle, where they have their town gatherings.

I was blown away. The association is also raising money to fix cateracts in the elders, and to improve the diet and health of their youth.

They set up all their textiles for me, and I purchased what I could, but they were disappointed that I couldn't buy more at the moment so they just gave me double the textiles to bring back with me, trusting that once they sell, I will pay them their 2/3s. They see Mosqoy as a reciprocal project that they want to continue to work with, however they can, as they realized first-hand through the looms, that they can benefit greatly. As I said goodbye, they lined up with a manta filled with fresh rose petals, and one by one poured the rose petals over my head - some sort of gracias ceremony. By the end, I was encircled in rose petals. It was quite amazing.

In other news regarding Proyecto Colibri, Kanchay Wasi (meaning "House of Light"), the battered women and children's centre want to participate. I am meeting with Lily today (Monday) to look at the weavings and to discuss for the future the kinds of weavings (natural, etc) that I would be able to purchase.

I bought tons of weavings from all the other projects and will mail them back to Victoria with registered mail. Casa Ecologica forgot about the majority of the orders that were asked in November, so I am frantically trying to find textiles to match the orders and to request from more trusted sources to weave them based on the photos. In the future, I will never ever again do orders. It is way too unreliable, and I do not want to be unprofessional for customers ordering textiles that may never arrive.

I have a couple days left to meet with the few other people involved in both projects, to finalize my part of the students' selection, and to have a nice despedida in both Ollantaytambo and with the students in Cusco. I'm looking forward to relaxing after Wednesday, but this trip has been well worth it.

-Ashley
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Mosqoy Update 4:
Saturday, June 2 to Tuesday, June 5, 2007.

Part One: Youth Bank

My last few days in Cusco were spent figuring out last minute necessities for the students of Mosqoy. Raul and I finished the selection of the next group of students, choosing 20 based on our 4 sets of criteria. And by the end of this month, he and the others will select the final 10 from this group once they can obtain their semester grades and see who is participating in the events, etc.

The three mechanics students who are studying in a different institute just finished their probational period of preparatory work and had their exam. They were all very nervous as only the best 30 students can enter the institute. But they all made it in the top 30, so are beginning their semester on July 1. On Tuesday, I went to the Senati Institute with the three mechanics students, to talk to the director about their next three years. I had to pay for their registration and tuition, and then was given a tour of the institute's facilities which are very impressive.

We had one last reunion on Tuesday night, with all the students, Raul and I, and it was a wonderful goodbye. They all wrote cards to all their sponsors, and some even went to buy or make presents for their sponsors as well. We went over a few rules one last time, and I told them all that they MUST attend the sexual education classes that begin Thursday. After our formal reunion, quite a few of the students stood up to give a good-bye speech which was very emotional. Eduardo and Elvira both cried during theirs, saying "No queremos que te vayas!" I now have some beautiful gifts that were hand-made by either the students or their mothers, that I will so treasure but that I now have to lug around Colombia! The students are so grateful and such inspiring youth, and I am now just trying to tell myself to enjoy my three weeks vacation before worrying about trying to find sufficient funds to continue making Mosqoy a reality for them. I hope I won't let them down.

Part Two - Proyecto Colibri

I visited the Kanchay Wasi store in Urubamba, and they don't yet have very many good quality textiles that are made from natural materials but they hope to grow in the future and become a larger project of Mosqoy. Right now, I just bought one chalina as an example of their work. While there, there was a girl who saw my business card and said "Oh, that organization! Yeah, one of my friends was a volunteer for that." I told her that she was mistaken and that it is a very small organization, but she told me that yes, in fact, she was good friends with Emma Tipping in New York! She is the girl who was my roommate when I started up Mosqoy in Ollantaytambo, designed the t-shirts, and put on an art exhibit in her university in New York to raise funds for Mosqoy. Her friend said she attended the exhibit which was beautiful. What a small world.

I shipped home most of the textiles I bought, which unfortunately was quite pricy but necessary. Now I am just waiting on 3 mantas that will hopefully be mailed to me by the end of July.

The textiles project is well established and I left feeling like I had prepared everything I needed to. I am now working quite extensively with 5 revitalization, ecological, and social projects based in the Sacred Valley: the CATCCO Museum, Casa Ecologica, Kanchay Wasi, De Chullos y Chalinas, and the Amaru textiles Association, and 2 independent families. It was so amazing to be able to see the families and villages that I was working with, and I hope to get to know them a lot more when I return for the students' graduation of 2009.

On a personal note:

I am now a Madrina. The role and ceremony of a godmother here is more than I ever was aware of, and my last week in Peru had to be much rearranged to accommodate for such an occasion. There was some chaos and tears on my part at first, as I could not - or felt inappropriate and wrong to me - to perform the baptism if I am not Catholic. So we had meetings with the priest, and he gave permission for me to act as the Madrina to the child but to not participate in the baptism. For me, being madrina meant being a part of the family, showing love and respect for Aldair, but I did not want to show disrespect to the church, community, or tradition. As tradition, I bought little 7-yr-old Aldair a suit and some dress shoes. After Aldair's baptism, his family and friends and I drove to their village of Chinchero where we then had a big party to celebrate being his Madrina! They cooked guinea pig and potatoes for everyone who attended, then brought me 4 plates of amazing vegetarian food! Stuffed peppers, toasted corn, Soltero...it was endless. I felt so welcomed into the family, and am looking forward to getting to know them more in the future.

I have now said my goodbyes both in Ollantaytambo and Cusco, and with all of the new families that I have become connected with, and am in Colombia for three weeks before returning to VIctoria to work and study. I am so glad I was able to go to Peru to see first-hand the effects of Mosqoy, the amazing happiness and success of the students, and to build more connections for the weaving project. Also, it was very worthwhile to resolve conflicts, unfinished business, and future objectives with everyone pushing to make Mosqoy work in Peru. For me, more than anything else, my return to Peru was needed to remind me of my reasons for beginning and continuing the project, and to prove to me that all of the work is so worth it.

See you when I get back!

-Ashley
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