Description
Fundamentation
Ayacuchan handicrafts are a symbol of Peru’s cultural wealth. Ayacucho is recognized as the capital of popular art and craftsmanship in the country, standing out for products like engraved gourds, textiles, stone carvings from Huamanga, ceramics, silverwork, filigree, retablos, and Sarhua boards. At CIMA, we promote this valuable art as an essential part of our cultural identity and as a tool to reconnect adolescents with their roots, valuing Peru’s history and cultural legacy. This workshop not only encourages artistic expression but also has a profound impact on strengthening self-esteem and national pride.
Therapeutic Achievements
In addition to the common therapeutic benefits in art workshops, such as channeling emotions and strengthening interpersonal relationships, this specific workshop allows adolescents to connect with their history and cultural heritage. By working with Ayacuchan artisanal traditions, participants learn to value Peruvian products and feel proud of their heritage. The workshop fosters creativity and promotes positive thinking about their ancestral origins, which is particularly relevant in a context where this cultural recognition is often lacking among youth.
Formative Achievements
One of the most representative products of Ayacuchan craftsmanship is the retablo, a portable structure containing figures that depict religious or everyday life scenes. At CIMA, the workshop focuses on the creation of retablos, teaching adolescents both the traditional construction techniques and the cultural meaning behind them. The process involves materials like cedar, plaster, mashed potato paste, and clay to create the figures that decorate the retablo’s internal levels. Through the teaching of these techniques, adolescents not only learn a craft but also participate in the intergenerational transmission of cultural knowledge, as has been done in Peru for centuries.
Productive Achievements
As adolescents progress in the workshop, those who stay longer take on a teaching role, passing down techniques and traditions to younger generations. This teaching model fosters a sense of responsibility and pride in preserving Ayacuchan culture. Adolescents who reach an advanced skill level become ambassadors of this tradition outside the home, using the acquired skills to generate income through small enterprises, exhibiting and selling their products at local fairs and markets, and now, thanks to globalization, to an international audience as well.
