MARÍA RAMOS

 

Huaycan, Lima (« Self-managed urban community of Huaycán»)
District: Ate
Province: Lima
Region: Lima
Huaycán is a place with a history. It is a narrow valley located in the far east of Lima, in the Ate District, on the slopes of Fisgon and Huaycán mountains. The lower basin of the river Rimac is full of Inca and Pre-Inca arqueological remains, many of which have disappeared entirely due to urban expansion. Fortunately, not everything has been lost and we can still appreciate certain places like the Huaycán de Pariachi Arqueological Zone, which is the largest in the Ate Vitarte district. In former times, it is believed to have been the most important site in this part of the valley from the river Rimac.

During the fiercest era of terrorism in Peru, its inhabitants lived under threat. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission report highlights that the eastern cone of Lima was the main scene of political violence in the capital. Today, however, it is one of the most thriving areas in the city, as its people have learned how to push through. There are many talented and creative people such as Maria Ramos (a native from Ayacucho, Peru, born in 1956).

Born in Huamanguilla, Ayacucho, she decided to migrate to Lima at a very young age seeking better opportunities. She is a teacher and a popular artist in “Arpillería”, an art that consists of ornamentation using hand-sewn pieces of fabric. These unique pieces tell stories, describe landscapes and have been used as a communication tool to speak out against human right violations. Currently she owns a company dedicated to manufacturing useful and decorative products applying the techniques of Arpilleria, as well as other customized designs that are sold in Peru and abroad. In addition, she was trained in Macramé weaving, Business Management, Cultural and Commercial Marketing for craftwork and Business Planning.

She is an entrepreneurial woman who empowers other women in her community, which is why she teaches these artistic techniques to various groups and in projects in rural areas. For example, she participated in the Emerging Social Productive Project “Building Peru”, an organizations of families displaced by the internal armed conflict (Mama Quilla) and was a speaker in the First International Textile and Fashion Industry Conference “FASHION DAY”, among others.

OUR POSITIVE SOCIAL IMPACT

We have built a business model based on the quality of life of our collaborators, starting with fair salary payments. We generates employment cocreating with artists from vulnerable areas of different provinces of the country.
More than 23 popular artists from Ayacucho, Huánuco, Huancayo, Cusco, Pucallpa, Lima and Arequipa are benefited by our teamwork with the craftsmen.

COMMITMENT WITH THE ENVIRONMENT

We have an environmental, health and safety policy that establishes group goals for key environmental aspects. To promote the responsible consumption and to educate our community so they will value the environment as we do. We produce 3 collections a year. We reuse all the waste of our raw material, making accessories or dolls.The materials we use come from sustainable sources, as well as the wastes of deadstock materials from the textile and leather industry.

2025 - 2026 AIDER & NIIBIRI

The main objective is to promote the conservation of the Amazon forests, where families of native communities of the Shipibo Conibo and Cacataibo ethnic groups live, and to contribute to improving their quality of life.
We will achieve this by working hand in hand between NIIBIRI, AGUSTINA, and AIDER, in the development and co-creation of "Products with history", which come from a sustainable management of natural resources, through the Forestry Alliance initiative.