el terreno

Last week a group of us from the Foundation spent a day in the countryside visiting five of the weavers. They had each been selected to have a weaving workshop built as an addition onto their homes so we were visiting to see the property and begin planning for the building of the workshops. Many of the women weave inside their homes without a dedicated space for their work. This can sometimes compromise the quality of the products, for example if the loom is located in the same room as where food is cooked, the wool might take on the smell of that food. Also the women often have to take care of many things in the household so it can be distracting to weave while all the other things that go on in a household are happening.

It was a great experience for me to see for the first time the homes of the artisans. They are scattered throughout the countryside, miles apart and down dusty gravel roads without signs. Buses to the next town only pass by once or twice a week on these roads. We got lost a dozen times but each time there would be someone who knew where that particular weaver lived (turn at the gigantic oak!).