Who is WUAMAN?
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By Sandra
With the support of our family, my husband and I created WUAMAN the brand. We created WUAMAN out of love. Love for each other, love for our families, and love for the amazing artisans from the Andes of Peru.
WUAMAN is a family company certified as a fair trade manufacturer. This means 3 things: we employ our community, we respect our environment, and we pay fair wages.
As a direct-to-consumer brand, with no middleman, your purchase directly supports Artisan and Alpaca Farmers from underdeveloped communities in the Andes of Peru.
How It All Began
By Sandra -
In Huancayo, Peru (1987) my father, Jose Huaman, was sixteen years old when his father taught him to knit on a manual knitting-machine. Grandpa had his own business making clothing, and it was time for Dad to contribute.
A few years later, when Mom, Nelly, and Dad were expecting me. They decided to invest in two manual knitting-machines, and expand the family business. They would knit sweaters for children and sell them at local markets. After years of hard work, they were excited to open their first shop.
A Step Forward
We wanted to become a more sustainable company. So, we began manufacturing all our products from Sustainable Alpaca Fiber.
Today, our company is Fair Trade Certified by Peru’s Chamber of Commerce for Exportation.
We are equipped with modern knitting-machines, along-side our valued traditional knitting-machines.
Fair Trade Certification = Fair Wages + Community + Environment
Social Responsibility
Our goal is to create jobs for members of our community. Our mission is to uphold our textile traditions, and employ our community to generate sustainable growth within.
From the start, our products were handmade including embroidery and crochet designs, to this day, handcrafted products and handmade designs are our essence.
This let us to create Free Training Workshops where we teach embroidery, crochet, and sewing, to members of our community. By learning a marketable trade they can achieve economic stability and create growth within the community.
Our employees work from home, where they manage their work schedule while simultaneously taking care of their children. In many cases this is their only source of income, and it significantly improves their quality of life.