When Macedonio Palomino and his wife Luzmila Huarancca started working with ESC-Ayacucho, they had insufficient capabilities to meet orders, find buyers, and preserve consistent designs in their alpaca fiber products. Moreover, being an informal business, their possibilities of obtaining adequate credit were limited. ESC-Ayacucho assisted them in becoming formal, following market trends, and improving the quality of their fabrics and embroideries. Now their enterprise, Artesanía Wari Urpi, has a network of around 300 embroiderers and knitters in six poor districts of Ayacucho. Recently it quadrupled its production capacity by building a new workshop. With the contacts facilitated by ESC-Ayacucho, Artesanía Wari Urpi now supplies several companies exporting Ayacucho designs to Chile, Colombia, Australia, France, Germany, and the U.S. In Peru, it sells through Saga Falabella and Café Britt, an airport store chain.

Interview:

According to entrepreneur Macedonio Palomino, the organization and capacity building provided by the PRA contributed to his enterprise’s ability to meet tall orders. “We have been adequately trained. We have teams specialized in knitting, design, embroidery, etc. All teams work in coordination to meet orders and preserve a uniform quality”. For Fabiana Rupay, a knitter from the San Rafael community, the market is the key to achieving a higher income. “When my work turns out nice, I get more orders”