Awamaki Journal: A Blog About Textiles, Travel and the Sacred Valley – tagged "ollantaytambo"

Jun 13, 2019

A Snapshot of Choquekillka

A Snapshot of ChoquekillkaBy Ashley Wade, Marketing and Communications Intern “The synthesis of the Catholic and Andean religions is something magic, something I have inside me.” Jenny, an Ollantaytambo local, shared with me the importance of the Choquekillka festival for her community and her family. The festival celebrates Señor de Choquekillka, patron of Ollantaytambo. “I learned this religion from my grandparents, and it fills me with happiness to know that Señor Choquekillka is the Saint of here.” Part of the festival, she says, is asking favors of Señor Choquekillka for the coming year. “I’ll ask to grant good health to...

Mar 20, 2019

Carnaval Around Ollantaytambo

Carnaval Around OllantaytamboBy Allegra Bundy, Marketing and Communications Intern “What do you do for fun?” is a question we get quite often living in the remote community of Ollantaytambo, Peru. As those of you who have been keeping up with us on our social media accounts already know, there is...

Aug 08, 2018

A New Home

A New HomeFor a week, Awamaki was host to six students from the World Leadership School in San Diego, California as they came down to volunteer with us. They were tasked with interviewing local women about their role as leaders in the community, and to write corresponding blog posts about...

Jul 11, 2018

Hiking Pinkuylluna

Hiking PinkuyllunaFor one month, Awamaki was lucky to host 15 students from Lakeside High School in Seattle, Washington to come down and volunteer with us over the course of three weeks. A team of them, as well as their supervisors, were able to create some blog articles for us about...

Dec 13, 2017

A Volunteer's Parting Words

By Shannon Walsh, Sales intern When I first arrived in Ollantaytambo I thought, “What did I get myself into?” That feeling lasted for about two weeks as I adjusted to life in Ollanta. Instead of heading back to Boston for another semester at Northeastern University, I decided to head...

Dec 06, 2017

The Train to Machu Picchu

By Shannon Walsh, Sales Intern My trip to Machu Picchu started bright and early at five o’clock in the morning. As I walked down to the train station in Ollantaytambo with my sister and a friend who were visiting, the excitement really started to hit me. As we got on...

Nov 29, 2017

My Summer in Peru

By Carolina Fowler, Marketing and Communications intern My summer as a Marketing and Communications intern for Awamaki bookmarks a shift, a paradigm of sorts, in my life. There is something that is so beautiful about being an outsider that is welcomed within a new place by others that you...

Nov 08, 2017

Ollanta Celebrates Another Year

By Isabel Strebe, Marketing and Communications Intern On the final days of October, all of Ollantaytambo comes together for a weekend of music, dancing, and celebrating cultural pride in the town plaza. This year marked the 123rd anniversary of Ollanta’s official founding. As a unique town, both geographically and culturally,...

Oct 25, 2017

Awamaki: Ten weeks later…

By Catherine Amy Jones, Marketing and Communication intern When I first told my family and friends that I was moving to Peru for ten weeks to live in the last living Inca city and near Machu Picchu, their reactions made me excited but quietly nervous. I knew Awamaki’s work empowering...

Oct 18, 2017

A Taste of Peru

By Isabel Strebe, Marketing and Communications intern It’s been almost two months since I packed a bag and left my home in Minneapolis, Minnesota to spend four months in Ollantaytambo as an Awamaki volunteer. Needless to say, jumping into rural, small town Peru has been a huge adjustment in almost...

Jun 17, 2015

#WomenCrushWednesday: Yony

by Christina Parodi, Marketing & Communications Intern A mother when you are a thousand miles away from home, our woman crush this Wednesday is Yony Usca Mejia, who always made sure I was well fed, warm and comfortable in my month long stay with her and her family. Already a...

Mar 25, 2015

Where in the World is Awamaki?

Don’t Panic! It’s true, Awamaki’s doors that have been open almost every day to welcome patrons passing on Calle Principal are now closed. But it’s ok, keep calm and move on. We have, down to Plaza Araccama. Earlier this month, our staff signed a new lease with the Iglesia de...

Oct 20, 2014

In Irma's Kitchen

By Erin Faltermeier, Sustainable Tourism Volunteer There’s no more wonderful smell in Ollantaytambo than the delicious aroma escaping Irma’s kitchen around lunch and dinner times. Lucky visitors have the opportunity to spend the evening with Irma, a culinary legend here in Ollanta, in the Peruvian cooking lessons offered through our...

Aug 26, 2014

Awamaki Natural Dye Workshop

By Hannah Watson, Women’s Artisanal Cooperatives Program Volunteer Beetles, flowers, leaves, and…fermented urine? The Women’s Artisanal Cooperatives Program volunteers recently learned what these materials had in common; they all create the brilliant hues in Awamaki’s knit goods. Yes, even human urine! We set off early one Friday morning, heading to...

Apr 25, 2014

10 Things Awamaki Volunteers Do on the Weekends!

By Carly Schnitzler, Community Education Volunteer 1. Laze around by the Inca Pools. Make sure to bring snacks and sunscreen! 2. Go on runs with our favorite street dogs. 3. Visit Cusco. Trips to the big city mean good food, lots of dancing, and, if you wake up early...

Mar 06, 2012

First Impressions by Wes Newbury

By Wes Newbury To be fair, neither my words nor my pictures will ever come close to capturing the beauty of Ollanta.Even as I experience it, I cannot grasp it.What follows is thus an endeavor in futility.These are my first impressions. Every morning I awake to the song of birds...

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