Caserita Feat. Cristina Chura - Bolivian Handicrafts

A STORY AMONG MANY

The hills of La Paz are daily witnesses of her life, the working life and effort of Cristina Chura, a craftswoman who found in this art a way to survive, hers and her family's. At about four in the afternoon we found her combing her long black hair, while feeling the implacable andean sun. With a great smile she invited us to rest and to start a chat at the door of her small neighbourhood store.

In the store one on top of the other, packages of soft drinks are seen to satisfy the thirst of the neighbors, when the pocket allows it, but as this precarious economic situation is well-known by most of the Bolivians, it is necessary to find new sources of income; therefore they understand, Cristina and her family, that every afternoon she sits to create alpaca wool articles.

Cristina has four children, a girl and three boys, among them they distribute the tasks of the house and the attention of the store to somehow relief their mother's occupations.

According to Cristina the secret for the success of its artisan products is the constant renovation, "crafts are good when you innovate in models and designs". The craftswoman told us that when she has a large order, she calls for her younger sister's aid and one of her neighbors, who in exchange for money make the work exactly as Cristina taught to them to.

Cristina as most of the Bolivian women is a specialist in weaving gloves, raising children, fighting for them and by all means in smiling to life.

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Howto & Style

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• Bolivian
• Handcraft
• Handicrafts
• Hand
• Made
• How
• To
• Caserita
• Cristina
• Chura