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 the town of Urubamba, about a half hour combi ride through the foggy Sacred Valley. Mercedes, our community coordinator and native of Urubamba, hosted us in her lovely, large backyard garden, where her black mastiff dog, Waiqi (meaning ‘brother’ in Quechua) roamed the yard and adjacent wood-shop. We rode from...