Spotlight on Fairtrade Businesses – Mayu Hand-Knit Alpaca

Posted by Patrick

October 5, 2009

Each week, Shared Interest will highlight a business who is activiely promoting Fairtrade in their community. This blog post does not imply endorsement by Shared Interest. Please contact us if you would like the ’spotlight’ on your company.

Kate Robertson was a Peace Corps volunteer for nearly three years in the beautiful Andes Mountains of Peru in the small village of Cordillera Huayuash (pronounced Whywash). It has the population of approximately 5000. Cordillera Huayuash is known for its worldwide trekking and hiking, which Ms. Robertson was able to take advantage of while living there.

Ms. Robertson lived with a host family while in Peru and worked primarily with the Peruvian women, whom she fell in love with. These women are very skilled artisans, as they learned to knit at a very young age. Their abilities amazed Kate. Some of the ladies are married, some single and some widowed, but all of them have children. Kate’s heart was “knit” together with these talented women. She desired to see them succeed and share their skills with others. So by the end of her time with the Peace Corps, she was already planning how to continue to support the Peruvian artisans.

Mayu Hand-Knit Alpaca was established to support and assist the Peruvian ladies in earning a fair wage that enabled them to earn income while remaining at home with their children. The extra income provides a better education for their children, dental work, and even rare trips outside the village.

The artisans work hard and love to knit. They knit anywhere and everywhere when their hands are free to do so. Many of the products they make for Mayu takes an estimated 4-64 hours to make. Hats take the least amount of time and the Alpaca throws take the most. Once the item is completely knitted, they, wash, dry and hand-sew tags on, plus the additional time to travel 2.5 hours to the city to mail the products the Mayu – An incredible amount of labor that adds so much value to these luxurious alpaca products.

“As an accessory addict and a Mayu devotee, I believe that once you wear a Mayu product, you will not want to take it off! Our items appeal to sophisticated, yet fun and informal individuals who are socially conscious and looking for one-of-a-kind pieces.” ~ Kate Robertson, owner of Mayu Hand-Knit Alpaca.

Mayu (prounounced My-u) means river in the Quechua language and was the name of Kate’s host sister’s. Mayu is a member of the Fair Trade Federation, which means they provide their artisans with living wages, assure there is no child labor, and are committed to sustainable environmental practices. Mayu is a socially conscious business that offers eco friendly hand-knit alpaca fashion apparel in the forms of shawls, alpaca throws, hats and scarves. Visit our website to view Mayu’s whole line of products.