Lickanantay weavers bring their ancestral art to the digital world

“Casa Telar has been a source of motivation and empowerment that gave me the confidence to do textile art and earn my living from it. The initiative has helped protect our heritage and show us we can dream of continuing to learn and starting our own small businesses.”

Artisan Mónica Ramos is emphatic in explaining the importance of Casa Telar, which began in Salar de Atacama towns in 2017. The initiative has adapted its operations to remain current and resume teaching in today’s public health crisis. The pandemic has driven Casa Telar to create and harness new digital formats to transfer techniques and continue their work.

The foundation’s new webpage www.casatelar.cl and the renewed push on social media is among those tools. Likewise, masters in textile arts from the towns will guide the students. This foundation, combined with technical support from the ONA Foundation and SQM, will enable the program to continue with the prevention and safeguarding measures for everyone. Involved in the Camelid fiber value chain

“Casa Telar is a school where we learn more about Atacameñan heritage. The program has become a wonderful initiative thanks to its excellent teachers. I am delighted and excited about the beginning of this new version,” added Roberto Ramos, who is also a Casa Telar student.

The project launched its 2021 version as part of Heritage Day celebrations. It aims to teach textile arts, primarily using llama fiber, and will begin with online workshops offered by local teachers and master weavers.

“In this new version, we adapt to today’s context of the pandemic and the new global circumstances that put us in a different physical situation. We did not want to fall behind. Therefore, we are resuming teaching with our new Casa Telar, this time in a digital environment,” explained the ONA Foundation’s Executive Director, Macarena Peña.

The executive added that the webpage was created in a joint effort by the weaving community and SQM. “It serves two purposes. First, it will be a publicity platform that shows Casa Telar and our biggest accomplishments to the world and provides documentation and bibliographical information on traditional Andean textiles to the general public. Second, the webpage will host online classes. Students will be able to download all program material and attend help sessions in virtual classrooms.”

HERITAGE IDENTITY

Initially a co-creation between SQM and the ONA Foundation, Casa Telar began by developing a teaching method and creating spaces for solidarity and cultural exchange. Its workshops, classes and gatherings drew more than 90 people from different Salar de Atacama communities. They have harnessed the technique, quality, materials and the territory’s heritage identity to create value-added products.

Senior Vice President of Environment and Community at SQM Salar, Alejandro Bucher, explained that “relaunching Casa Telar has special meaning for its students and cultural expression in this territory, which we share and respect. That is why we have undertaken the technical task of adapting the teaching to virtual platforms with the aim of reaching all students during the pandemic. The initiative includes digital literacy preparation for each student. A local master textile artisan will lead the instruction because, in addition to teaching textile techniques, the program creates ties of solidarity that drive the production chain, improving the lives of farmers and artisans.”

Relaunching Casa Telar

The Casa Telar program was adapted to meet new virtual demands and resume classes with the Atacameña weaving community. This year’s version includes textile materials, personal equipment, transfer of techniques for the traditional art form and teaching participants to navigate the online platforms to ensure an ideal participation experience.