Well, it is Winter now in the
Peruvian Highlands, and night time weather is quite cold. There have been
unusually low temperatures this year and life amongst those who have very little
is not easy. With only a cooking fire in many dwellings, there are few comforts
like warmth and coziness on a winter’s night. Doors and windows that are not
‘tight’ let in draughts and bedtime comes early so that all can help each other
keep warm in the family bed.
The Q'ewar Project is situated a little
lower than the high valley city of Cuzco, but nevertheless, it shares in this
winter’s frigid night air. With no hot running water or heaters of any kind,
the villagers of the pueblo Andahuaylillas are hardy folk, you can be
sure!
As orders for the lovely Q'ewar dolls and shawls keep coming in,
there have been a few changes made in the workshops – with newcomers to the
Project and exchanges in work responsibilities. This is all very healthy and
takes into consideration the needs of the women to have diversification and the
freedom to take on other tasks.
In this time of the dry season, adobe
bricks for the new schoolhouse of Wawa Munakuy are being fashioned. It is very
important that work on the adobe has begun because once the rainy season begins
(could be as early as November), the bricks need to be quite dry and stacked
until they are used in the construction.
Since it will be a two story
edifice, some 4,000 bricks, (16” long x 5” depth x 8” wide approximately) will
be needed. As these bricks are being made, work is being done on leveling the
land in preparation for construction. When the construction starts and the
schoolhouse begins to take shape, we’ll have some photos for you!
At the
end of June, the Q'ewar team of 22 women, 3 men and 18 children, went to the
yearly Huancaro Fair on the edge of Cuzco. It was a day all will remember! Many
of the women had never been to the Fair (even though it takes place every year,
less than 2 hours away!) and the children were able to enjoy all the farm
animals in their stalls.
A word of great THANKS to those of you who have sent the non-profit, FRIENDS OF
QEWAR, a donation through Paypal, online.
Every donation is most gratefully received and anyone who has not received a
letter of thanks, PLEASE contact us via and send a postal address. We want to officially
acknowledge your most welcome donation to the Project.
Please do write us
with your comments, questions or suggestions! We always enjoy hearing from
you!