Project Launch:

The rural town of Bolivar, in the foothills of Cajamarca in Peru, is an agricultural area located near the border of neighboring department Lambayeque and home to close to 550 people and district capital to 10 caserios with a total population of about 1,100. Bolivar is a fairly isolated town that is a four hour drive from the nearest big city, where visitors are scarce and economic and educational opportunities are limited. Teen Tejedoras (knitters) is a project created for and by Bolivar women of all ages. With a $497 grant from World Connect's Kids to Kids Program in 2011, a group of teachers taught a group of teenagers how to knit and crochet. The group met weekly in the meeting room of Bolivar's local library, a pleasant and safe space for women to meet and chat and share their lives, leading to the development of social ties. While the project was aimed at increasing knitting skills, a goal was also to encourage locals to take ownership of the library and take pride in the space, developing a stronger sense of community. The goal is that the project will grow to include many more teen tejedoras, their sisters, mothers, aunts, and grandmothers, thus providing female members of the community the opportunity to practice a tradition that is central to Bolivar life as well as have meaningful social groups to socialize with.