Tejidos Turmanye is the result of an initiative of four mothers from the children's feeding programme in Huaraz, Peru, run by "Arco Iris" (meaning Rainbow). Their shared vision was to improve their living conditions and, with the support of Arco Iris, they embarked on this venture in September 2003. At this time, all they needed were two machines, one for sewing and one for weaving. A few months later they acquired another two machines as a result of a donation to Arco Iris. The following year two more mothers joined the group.

Arco Iris envisaged this initiative as a long-term project and, as such, invested in training, materials, and a basic framework that would provide the conditions necessary for the workshop's success. Every step in the process was a new challenge for the mothers, who developed their knowledge and technical abilities, and for Arco Iris, who were entering a new field of work.

In 2007 a loom was added to the workshop; another new experience for the mothers involved. Seeing how far we had come, we could not stop there, so we began the search for better resources, approaching international contacts and the private sector with structured, technical proposals. As a result, we have been able to further improve the infrastructure of the project and the workshop's capacity.

In September 2008 one of our founding mothers, Margarita Sifuentes, sadly passed away. She used to always say: "it's not good to always wait for help, we should begin something ourselves"; words that often motivated and encouraged the others. If she were here today, she would still be at the forefront of this work that God continues to bless.

Through perseverance, hard work and continual learning we have now arrived at a place where we can see the fruit of our labour: over 22 mothers who weave fine alpaca fibres at a high standard and receive monthly incomes for the items they produce, which are sold both locally in Tienda Turmanyé (No. 758, Jr. Avenida Luzuriaga, Huaraz, Peru), and to international markets in Finland, Germany and Spain. This story of dreams, hope and effort is aptly expressed through our motto: "Tejidos Turmanye: Clothes that bring hope".