Written by Adri Vargas, Sustainable Product Designer
Alpacas are native to the Andes of South America. Although they can be found in Peru, Bolivia,
Chile, and Argentina, Peru is home to the world’s largest alpaca population.
Between 70% and 80% of the world’s alpacas live in the Peruvian Andes. Andean communities share a close connection with these animals, which are part of their culture, traditions, and everyday lives.
Kusi Qoyllor: The Artisans of Huilloc
The group of artisans we work with on this handspun yarn project is called Kusi Qoyllor, which means “Happy Star.”
They live in Huilloc, a community approximately 3,800 meters above sea level in the Patacancha Valley, in Ollantaytambo, Cusco, Peru.
Huilloc maintains a rich heritage of textile knowledge. Its artisans practice traditional techniques such as backstrap weaving, handspinning with a pushka, and naturally dyeing fibers with plants and other natural materials.
Passed down from generation to generation, this knowledge is part of the community’s cultural identity. Through their work, the artisans keep these traditions alive.
Spinning with a Pushka
The project began with the idea of transforming alpaca fiber from communities in the Patacancha watershed into yarn using a technique passed down through generations: spinning with a pushka.
A pushka is a traditional spindle used to spin by hand. Through continuous movements, artisans draw out and twist the fiber, gradually turning it into strong yarn.
Spinning with a pushka takes practice, patience, and knowledge. Learning the technique can take months or even years, depending on the person and how often they practice. Many artisans begin learning as children, watching their mothers and grandmothers.
A pushka can be used to spin different natural fibers, including alpaca and sheep’s wool, depending on the animals a family raises.
One of the most beautiful things about this tradition is how naturally it fits into everyday life. Many artisans carry their pushka while walking, talking, or going about other activities, making the most of small moments to spin. It is knowledge that travels with them wherever they go.
Preparing the Alpaca Fiber
The first stage of the project was obtaining alpaca fiber. We purchased it from small producers in the valley, working directly with the people who raise the animals.
Once we had the fiber, we worked with the artisans to identify its characteristics and prepare it for spinning.
Freshly shorn fiber usually contains grass, mud, dust, and other debris. Alpacas live outdoors, so their fiber needs careful cleaning before it can be used.
The first step is a process we call tissado: removing debris by hand to prepare the fiber for the next stages.
For me, tissado is one of the longest and most tedious parts of the process. Done entirely by hand, it requires time, patience, and close attention. The fiber must be examined little by little, carefully removing pieces of grass, dirt, and other impurities. It may look simple, but a great deal of work happens before spinning can even begin.
Selecting the Fiber
To develop their fiber-sorting skills, the artisans attended workshops with Mr. Francisco, a specialist in selecting and spinning alpaca fiber from Ocongate, Cusco.
Step by step, he showed them how to recognize different fiber qualities and separate them to make the best use of each.
Even fiber from the same alpaca does not necessarily have the same softness or value. Fiber from the back and sides, for example, tends to be finer and softer, while fiber from the belly and legs may be coarser or shorter.
Before these workshops, the artisans generally mixed the fiber together. While that approach was not wrong, it meant missing the opportunity to separate the finest fibers and recognize their greater value.
Through this training, the artisans explored the distinct characteristics of each type of fiber and the role careful sorting plays in producing higher-quality yarn.
Mr. Francisco also taught them how to work with different yarn counts—a measure of how fine or thick a yarn is. By adjusting how much fiber they use and how far they draw it out while spinning, they can create finer or thicker yarn.
Being able to spin different thicknesses allows the artisans to prepare yarn for a wider range of textile projects and offer more variety in their work.
The Hands Behind the Yarn
Building on this knowledge, the artisans continued refining their spinning techniques and improving the quality of their yarn.
The pushka is a familiar tool in their communities, often present in their lives from childhood. Watching an experienced artisan spin can make it look easy. Trying it yourself tells a different story. It takes concentration, coordination, and careful control of tension to keep the fiber from breaking and the yarn continuous.
Through this process, the artisans have expanded the range of yarn thicknesses they can produce and made significant improvements in quality.
But there is something essential to remember: this is a handmade process from the very beginning. Every strand is spun by hand, and no two pairs of hands are the same.
Even when the artisans aim for the same thickness, their yarns will never be exactly alike. Each person has her own way of drawing out and twisting the fiber. Those small differences are part of the beauty of handmade work.
Every yarn is unique because it carries something of the person who made it.
Exploring Natural Dyes
Once the artisans had refined their spinning techniques and yarn quality, we began the next stage: natural dyeing.
For me, this was a real challenge. The artisans already knew the art of natural dyeing, but I wanted us to use precise measurements, record recipes, and document each result so we could reproduce the same colors over time.
In many communities, natural dyeing is practiced intuitively, experimenting with materials and colors without necessarily measuring quantities or writing down recipes. This traditional knowledge has enormous value, though it can make achieving the exact color in each batch more difficult.
Before introducing this process, we spent three months researching and experimenting to decide which colors to develop and which materials to use.
We settled on three colors: pink and lilac from cochineal, and green from eucalyptus. With the recipes established, we were ready to begin the next stage alongside the artisans.
Why Eucalyptus Instead of a Native Plant?
We chose eucalyptus because it is an introduced species that has spread throughout many parts of Peru. While it provides material for natural dyes, its environmental impact also deserves consideration, as it can compete with native plants for water and soil nutrients.
This brings me to something I think is important: a natural dye is not necessarily a sustainable one.
Producing certain colors can require large quantities of plants and other natural resources. If we take more than nature can replenish, we risk harming the very environment we want to care for.
For me, sustainability means looking beyond whether a material is natural. It also means asking where it comes from, how much we need, and how we can use it responsibly.
Learning to Work with Dye Formulas
By this stage, I had spent three months researching and developing fairly precise formulas for producing the colors, including with larger quantities of fiber.
The next step was helping the artisans prepare these colors independently. That was when I understood the challenge ahead.
The group includes women ranging from their twenties to their sixties. Some did not have the opportunity to learn to read and write, and others did not speak Spanish. I needed to find different ways to explain the process so everyone could participate and understand.
We needed to practice using calculators, weighing fiber, and calculating dye quantities as a percentage of the fiber’s weight. Teaching the formulas was more straightforward when the artisans already recognized written numbers. When they did not, we needed a different approach.
With this in mind, we organized three workshops focused on using calculators and learning the formulas.
The goal went beyond reproducing the project’s three colors. I wanted the artisans to be able to use these skills in their own work: experimenting with other colors, calculating quantities, and applying what they had learned independently.
I believe they made progress, although some moved more quickly than others. That was part of the process, too. Teaching means finding different ways to support people so each person can learn at her own pace.
The Challenges of Natural Dyeing
The artisans now produce their own yarn and continue practicing how to reproduce the shades we developed for the project. This part of the process brings its own challenges.
As I mentioned earlier, every pair of hands is different, and so is every skein. Even when the artisans aim for the same thickness and twist, small variations remain. Those differences can also affect how the yarn takes up color.
A skein may absorb dye differently because it was not washed thoroughly enough, has a tighter twist, or was prepared slightly differently. The type of fiber, amount of dye, water temperature, dyeing time, and even the characteristics of the water and natural ingredients can all influence the result.
Reproducing exactly the same shade with natural dyes is a considerable challenge. Industr
ial dyeing allows conditions to be controlled more systematically. Here, we work by hand with fibers and natural ingredients that can vary from one batch to the next.
One of the most important things I have learned through this project is that creating a beautiful color is one achievement. Reproducing that color consistently across different skeins is another challenge altogether.
What Comes Next for Kusi Qoyllor?
The artisans of Kusi Qoyllor continue refining their techniques and gaining more control over the natural dyeing process.
As part of the project, we have also provided a machine that helps remove dirt and debris from the fiber, and we hope to obtain more. Our goal is to make tissado—which takes so much time and effort by hand—faster and easier.
Working with these women has been a beautiful experience. They bring curiosity, participat
ion, and a strong desire to keep learning and improving. Their commitment gives this work even more meaning.
I hope this project continues to grow. Behind every skein we sell is an artisan: her time, her effort, and all the knowledge she carries.
For me, each skein represents much more than yarn. It represents a person and a tradition we want to help preserve.
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