This brightly colored fabric is
called manta which means “blanket” in
Spanish. The indigenous women of Peru carry
their babies tied to their
back in mantas. The square mantas come in many
different colors and
designs and distinguish the province from
which the indigenous group is
from. The style at the left comes in 15
different colors, typically
worn by the women of Cusco, and is the main
textile used in making PJT
products. The fabric to the right is
the traditional manta of
Huancavelica. Manta
can be washed in warm water and dried on medium
heat in the dryer; they are reversible, and do
not fade or shrink. The fiber content is 90%
acrylic and 10% rayon.
This black and white fabric
(sometimes brown and black) is hand drawn
by the Shipibo (shi-PEE-bo) indigenous women
of eastern Peru. The
design is unique to Peru and its meaning is
not clearly understood.
Some people think it represents
constellations, while others say it is
the path of the giant Anaconda, or a map of a
Peruvian village. To get
a brown background, the cotton fabric is first
dyed with mud from a
river, and then the design is drawn by a
woman, using a piece of metal
for her pen. Originally tree bark was used in
making the black dye but
now color-fast dyes are used that retain the
color much better. This
fabric is 100% cotton and can be
machine-washed in cold water.
Our
cotton baby blanket was designed by an ordained
pastor, Sandy Tice, who lived in Lima along
with her husband. Previously men in the Andean
community of Huayanai had woven wool bedspreads
using the same design and competing with many
other weavers so that prices for their
bedspreads were very low. When Sandy showed
them a new design that utilized cotton fiber, a
new product was born that dramatically
increased their income. From our blankets
cotton shawls, mufflers, and capes have
evolved. The weavers’ wives crochet the edge of
the fabric and make the fringe, making it a
true family affair.
The black
purse pictured on the left is our slingshot
purse. The handle of the purse is made from a
plaited wool slingshot used by shepherds and
shepherdesses in the Andes to protect their
alpaca and sheep herds from foxes and other
predators. A rock fits into the flat section at
the top of the purse’s shoulder strap and is
released through the hole in the center.
Slingshots were a dying art form until we
incorporated them into this purse design. Now
young men are carrying on the tradition and
learning to make slingshots from the village
elders.By designing a new product that
incorporates the slingshot, PJT is helping
preserve a traditional skill.
Our
alpaca socks are knitted in an area of the
Andes mountains so remote that the women
knitters do not speak Spanish but instead speak
Quechua, the language of the ancient Incan
empire. The women knit designs of local animals
in the socks: llamas, cows, sheep, dogs, cats,
bats, condors, and foxes. When the knitter
reaches the heel of the sock, she will often
use bicycle spokes to serve as the extra
knitting needles she needs.