Quechua-speaking women artisans in Peru’s Cuzco region are boosting their incomes and enhancing their trading capabilities thanks to the Aid-for-Trade Initiative
The Competitiveness Program for the Development of Textiles Export Associations, supported by financial contributions from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), seeks to promote local economic development in low-income areas—a key aspect of the Aid-for-Trade Initiative.
To this end, it trains craftspeople and entrepreneurs in Peru’s Cuzco region in areas such as management, technological innovation, design, and associative models with the goal of enhancing their capacity to enter national and international value chains.
The program has thus far benefitted 425 artisans grouped in five different associations in rural areas of Cuzco. Around 91 percent of them are women, and most only speak Quechua.
The project helped seed the formation of public-private alliances for export promotion in the Cuzco region. It has successfully led to innovations in products, processes, and manufacturing techniques, as well as to the creation of KAMAQ, the beneficiaries’ own trademark for promoting and selling their products.
The program facilitated the participation of representatives from these associations in national and international trade shows such as Peru Gift Show, the New York International Gift Fair, and Expo Mercería y Manualidades in Mexico City. Given its successful implementation, the IDB is now working on a second phase for the project.