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Ichimay Wari Artisan Association
The name Ichimay Wari comes from two pre-Incan cultures who dedicated themselves to the production of utilitarian ceramics using natural colors. Ichimay comes from, “Ichimas,” who were the ancient inhabitants of Lurin and it also is the name in Quechua of the natural color finishes that artisans have used to paint since ancient times. The term Wari referes to the first Andean empire (500-1100 DC), which developed in the region of Ayacucho (the motherland of the artisans of Ichimay Wari).
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In the 1980’s, the region of Ayacucho suffered a violent social conflict. Because of this, the artisans were mistreated and persecuted by the terrorist group called Shining Path and at the same time by the national military. For this reason they fled in a search of a new life. They arrived in different circumstances and in different parts of Lima, most of all in Chorillos. In Lima discrimination and abuse was predominant in their employers. Some time later, the Municipality of Lurin created advantages for people in impoverished conditions to acquire their own plots of land.
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For years the artisans worked hard to make these plots inhabitable. Because they all belonged to the same employer and played sports together, the artisans were inspired to form an association, in which they would be able to price their own products and stop being mistreated by their employers. In March of 1999 a group of 25 artisans met and named a coordinator. En June of the same year, they legally registered the association. From that moment on, they received trainings for the development of their workshops and their community, financed by NGOs, universities and institutions, in specialized themes of technological development, production, marketing, costs, history, iconography, and alternative tourism. In this way, the association continues developing projects and commitments, such as the project “Sacred Hands of Lurin,” financed by PROPOLI. The objective of this project was to promote the cultural identity of the artisans of Lurin, forming school children and young adults into new artisans. |
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The works of the artisans reflects their pre-Incan cultures and the manifestation of Christianity that arrived with the Spanish conquest. The association is composed of nineteen family workshops of Ayacuchan origin, with three lines of production: ceramics, loom-woven textiles, and retablo altarpieces.
Two general assemblies are held each year and smaller meetings with all of the associates are held each week. The association maintains a directive counsel composed of nine members selected democratically through an electoral committee. The directive counsel meets when the circumstances require it for reports, balances, and planning and development of activities. All positions in the directive counsel are re-elected every two years. |
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