April 6  - 12, 2025

C U S C O,  P E R U

Registration coming soon!

Aula Artesana and Fiber Circle Studio have teamed together to offer a 7 day textile based experience working side by side with the artisans of Peru, learning how to naturally dye, spin on a drop spindle and weave on a backstrap loom. 

No fiber arts experience required. We have worked carefully to provide an experience that is both beginner and experienced friendly, offering more advanced options as we work.

THE PLACES 

We'll be staying at a high end, boutique hotel with a gorgeous property, cozy rooms and delicious food! 

THE FOOD

All of our meals are home-cooked with large varieties of fresh vegetables, fruits, and optional meat. Breakfasts are buffet style, with really great coffee, and every meal has freshly picked tea!

 We will also be treated with a meal cooked in the Pachamanka (earth oven) in the rural community of Patacancha - something that simply can't be described. You have to taste for yourself. I have never eaten so good in my life!!! 

THE COLORS [NATURAL DYEING]

One of the amazing things about the colors of Peru, is all of their plants are foraged within their region. The brilliant, saturated and array of colors come from generations of passed down knowledge and experience. And these women are opening up to share this wonder with us! 

We will be dyeing Peruvian sourced yarn using natural dye plants harvested in the Cusco region. Start dreaming about projects you can knit, weave or crochet with the gorgeous colors you'll be dyeing! 

THE FIBER [ALPACA CEREMONY, SHEARING + MAKING YARN]

 The Quechua people strongly believe in giving thanks to Mother Earth (Pachamama) for everything she gives us, and this includes celebrating the gift of the fiber from the alpacas before they shear and use the fiber for their textiles.

We have been invited into this scared ritual, and not just for observance, but actual participation. They will outfit us in their beautiful mantas, skirts and hats, let us part take in shearing and invite us in a circular, group dance. 

Teaming up with a spinner, they'll walk us through making a single ply yarn, and a 2-ply if you choose to do so! The tool they use for spinning is known as a pushka, or a drop-spindle. 

If you want to dye your mini-skein of yarn that you make, they'll have some dye pots stewing away!

THE FABRIC [WORKING WITH A WEAVER TO MAKE A WALL HANGING]

 After choosing your colors of yarn that have been naturally dyed by the women in the Quechua community, we'll break off one-by-one with a weaver and together build and warp the back strap loom. The loom and all it's tools are sticks that have been carved for each use.

Over and under the sticks, the balls of colorful yarn will go to create your warp. Literally working hand, in hand, the weaver will show you how to create a special motif through the use of hand picking a warp faced pattern.

After 2 days of weaving, we'll get to take our pieces off the loom and tie the fringe, resulting in a finished piece to hang on the wall and cherish forever.

This weaving doesn't just represent yarn and color. It represents the ancestral tradition of Quechua artisans. It holds a memory of connection and collaboration of this time spent with the weavers who have so generously invited us into a special place. 

EXPLORATION 

Lastly, we'll get an opportunity to explore the local, iconic surroundings.

Ollataytambo is one of the ancient Inca cities and rests at the base of Macchu Picchu. Grab a coffee, wander the town and marketplace or take an optional hike to one of the ruins.

The Maras Salt Mines are a mind blowing scenery of active salt mines that are worked by several families. The salt from here is to die for! I am still cooking with the little bag I bought - savoring the flavor! 

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I hope that you will join us for this really special experience, take lots of photos and come home with a full heart and soul. 

 If you would like to explore more of the Cusco region before or after our retreat, please reach out to either Alisha of Fiber Circle Studio or Sonya of Aula Artesana for help in organizing other experiences.

Alisha alisha@fibercirclestudio.com

Sonya sonya@aulaartesana.com

PHOTO CREDIT: Leah Pellegrini & Alisha Bright