Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco (Center for Traditional Textiles of Cusco or CTTC) was founded by indigenous weavers from the community of Chinchero as well as international supporters in 1996 as a non-profit organization. It is based out of the city of Cusco, Peru where its main offices, museum and shop are located. The CTTC works in support of indigenous weavers from the Cusco region to recover traditional Cusqueñan textiles. The organization currently partners with ten communities from the Cusco region: Accha Alta, Acopia, Chahuaytire, Chinchero, Huacatinco, Mahuaypampa, Patabamba, Pitumarca, Santa Cruz de Sallac, and Santo Tomas (Chumbivilcas).
Mission and vision
The CTTC's mission is to "promote the empowerment of weavers through the sustainable practice of Peruvian ancestral textile traditions in the Cusco region. This enables the weavers to maintain their identity and textile traditions while improving their quality of life through workshops, opportunities, and the promotion of their textile art." The CTTC's aim is to revive Pre-Columbian textile traditions and provide support to weaving communities.
Due to racism, colonialism, poverty, and more, textile traditions in the Cusco region were in danger of disappearing during the 20th century. In the Andes, textiles are an important part of everyday life and a key component of local culture. This ancient way of life, passed down for thousands of years from generation to generation, has been at risk since the days of the Conquest. Traditional textiles were such a strong symbol of indigenous identity and resistance to colonial rule, that the Spanish outlawed their creation and use. Despite this, the people of the Andes continued practicing their textile traditions until the 20th century. Under pressure from changes brought about by globalization, including the introduction of chemical dyes and fibers, traditional textiles experienced a dramatic decline in the 1900s.
Since 1996, the CTTC has worked to empower weavers and achieve its vision "To place the weaver of ancestral textiles as a recognized global artist, forging a just recognition by society and assuring the continuity of the ancestral textile practice."
History
Since the 1960s, an informal group of women weavers from the community of Chinchero gathered together to revive textile traditions and earn an independent income from male relatives through the sale of their textiles in the tourist market. When the husband and wife pair of ethnobotnists Christine and Ed Franquemont arrived in Chinchero in the 1970s to conduct research, they encouraged the weavers to continue their community organizing work. With the support of the Franquemonts and other international friends, the group of weavers founded a cultural center in Chinchero. When this cultural center failed, the weavers re-organized under the leadership of Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez to found the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del Cusco (CTTC).
The CTTC was founded in 1996 as a non-profit organization registered with APCI in Peru by weavers from Chinchero and their international supporters. Key founders of the CTTC include: Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez, Elizabeth and David Van Buskirk, Maria Tocco, Christine and Ed Franquemont, Yolanda Jaime Callañaupa, Yenny Callañaupa, Flora Callañaupa de Hendrickson, Betty Doerr, and Tim Wells, amongst many others. The CTTC originally partner with a handful of communities in the Cusco region to revive textile traditions, including the communities of Accha Alta, Chahuaytire, Chinchero and Pitumarca. Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez has served as director of CTTC since 1996. The board of directors includes: Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez, Flora Callañaupa de Hendrickson, Yolanda Jaime Callañaupa, Hilda Roque Perez, Miriam Luna, and Betty Doerr.
Until 2001 the CTTC was run out of the basement of the home of Nilda Callañaupa Alvarez. After an extensive capital campaign, the CTTC purchased and remodeled a building on Av. Sol 603, Cusco, Perú to house its offices, museum, and store.
In 2010 the CTTC held Tinkuy 2010: Gathering of Weavers, an international conference that gathered together indigenous weavers, textile artists, art historians, anthropologists and others to discuss and share textile traditions from around th world. In 2013, CTTC organized the second Tinkuy titled Tinkuy 2013: Gathering of Weavers.