San Pedro de Cajas - Peru
Peru is a country situated along the Pacific coastline in western South America . Within its borders, dividing its vast tropical coastline from the lush Amazon rainforest lies the towering Andes mountain range. The Andes , though less than 100 miles wide, rise to an average height of 13,000 feet. It is here in the heart of the cordillera where Peruvian artisans produce the most interesting and varied handicrafts on the continent.
San Pedro de Cajas is located approximately 240 km from Lima on the grand peaks of the Andes mountain chain just east from the mining
town of Oroya . For more than 300 years Peruvians of this Andean village and their descendents have farmed this section of the cordillera cultivating primarily yuca, coca leaves and several varieties of potatoes in abundance. Although San Pedro de Cajas registers 12,900 feet above sea level and has a year round arid climate with below normal temperatures, it's soil abides rich in mineral deposits, providing likewise for local herdsmen abundant numbers with their livestock of mostly sheep and domesticated llamas. Thus the village of San Pedro de Cajas prospered from self-sufficiency, allowing Incan ancestral rituals, cultural traditions and farming methods to remain untouched by time for many generations.
In the early 1960's North American companies in particular drew interest in exploring the rich mineral deposits of this region, establishing prosperous gold, silver and copper mines surrounding San Pedro de Cajas for much of the decade. Many of the farmers and herdsmen of San Pedro de Cajas turned to mining as their major source of modest income, recruiting every year more villagers to depend on the highly reliable but low-income employment offered by these newly established mining companies, leaving aside many of their ancestral customs and farming methods.
But military dictatorship entered the Peruvian government in the early 1970's withdrawing many of the mining companies from this region by force, causing economic ruin and social unrest throughout Peru despite the government's later and desperate attempt to ease the
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Village of San Pedro de Cajas |
greatly affected provinces of Peru with an unsuccessful agrarian reform.
This drastic economic change directly affected San Pedro de Cajas and it's neighboring villages forcing San Pedro to grow. It grew inward to withstand the economic recession, relying strongly upon it's harvests and livestock for support. But the departure of the mining companies scarred both the life and land of Peru 's cordillera, leaving San Pedro de Cajas to rely on their ancestral rituals and methods for stability once again.
The center of San Pedro de Cajas consists of a plaza, a church and a seat of government; the standard assembly of a town established by the Spanish conquistadores in the late 15th century and an architectural format still evident throughout many of Peru 's province villages. Despite the desperate times they faced San Pedro de Cajas's plaza remained the meeting point for the trade and sale of Andean commodities. It is here where food, clothing and livestock were bought and sold and where the rebirth of textile weaving for San Pedro de Cajas eventually occurred.
Before the removal of the mining industries from Peru many of its North American and Canadian employees had observed the villagers'
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The Town of Puno |
customs and were fascinated by the unique variety of products available in San Pedro de Cajas, in particular the meticulous talent of tapestry weaving. For generations decorative textile weaving was considered a non-resourceful commodity that was never created by the people of San Pedro de Cajas for commercial use. Apart from the essential rugs and blackets needed to withstand the elements of the cordillera, decorative tapestries were only made in very low quantities. They remained an unrecognized source of income that over the years has been refined by time and is now the substantial revenue for San Pedro de Cajas thanks to the pioneering efforts of people like Hover Montes.
