DIONICIA CHILPA

 


Location: Sicuani, Cusco
Altitude: 3,557 meters above sea level (11,670 ft)
District: Sicuani
Province: Canchis
Region: Cusco

Dionicia, originally from the Ausanta community in the Chumbivilcas region, comes from a cultural landscape where tradition, identity, and craftsmanship are deeply intertwined. Her journey into embroidery is closely connected to her personal story and to the people who have shaped her path.

She learned the art of embroidery from her husband, Edwin Quispe, who is originally from the Acco Acco community in Sicuani. Their story is one of both partnership and shared purpose. After winning Dionicia’s heart, Edwin invited her to join him in Sicuani, where together they began to build not only a life, but also a creative practice rooted in tradition.

Both Dionicia and Edwin come from families with a strong embroidery heritage, where knowledge is passed down through generations and craftsmanship is an essential part of daily life. This background has allowed them to develop a deep understanding of their craft, combining inherited techniques with years of dedicated practice.

They specialize in maquinask’a embroidery, a distinctive technique that merges machine use with the precision and sensitivity of hand-guided work. This form of embroidery requires not only technical skill but also a trained eye and steady hand, as each detail is carefully controlled by the artisan.

For Dionicia, embroidery is more than a skill—it is a way of expressing identity, memory, and cultural continuity. Each piece she creates carries the essence of her origins, reflecting the colors, textures, and stories of her community.

Together, Dionicia and Edwin work as a team, creating pieces that embody both tradition and collaboration. Their shared vision is to bring their handcrafted work beyond their local context and share it with the world, allowing their art to be recognized and valued across different cultures.

Through their work, they seek not only to sustain their livelihood but also to preserve and honor the embroidery traditions that define their heritage, ensuring that these practices continue to live on through future generations.

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.