Following the World Crafts Council’s recent designation of two “World Craft Cities” in the Lakes Region of Chile, Hotel AWA is celebrating its neighbors’ distinctions with new hands-on cultural excursions for guests. Travelers, as part of Hotel AWA's all-inclusive rate, can now enjoy such experiences as basket-making and loom-weaving in collaboration with Fundación Artesanías de Chile, which will showcase local craft traditions.
Last year, the World Crafts Council designated the sister villages of Ilque and Huelmo each as a “Craft City of the World” in recognition of traditional basket-making and loom-weaving techniques that pre-date Hispanic culture, and have been kept alive by local artisans for more than 150 years. The crafting techniques can be traced back to Chilean cultures that traveled by canoe and were passed along by families that arrived from Chile’s Chiloé and Calbuco areas in the mid-19th century.
Those same families, now fewer in number, preserve the tradition of collecting, processing and weaving junquillo (juncus procerus), a bulbous flowering rush plant that is native to Patagonia and, more recently and reluctantly for artisans, manila (phormium tenax), an evergreen perennial native to New Zealand that grows in abundance and is easier to gather and prepare. Junquillo is used by artisans to make baskets for gathering shellfish and other sundries, as well as for rugs. This artisanship was at the heart of the local economy until the arrival of aquaculture in the 1990s.
Set along Lake Llanquihue just outside of Puerto Varas, Hotel AWA grants every guest the services of a private guide to discover the region through wilderness excursions and hands-on experiences with local artisans. Hotel AWA’s Basketwork cultural excursion departs just after breakfast, with guests being transported one hour by their personal guide. The experience begins with an overview of the collecting, processing and weaving of junquillo and manila at Villarroel Almonacid, a family residence and junquillo farm where guests learn to pluck and tenderize the plant before visiting the workshop to see it weaved by skilled artisans into elaborate works.
After joining the family for refreshments, guests visit a bird-watching viewpoint, followed by the manila plantation to discover the process of creating basketry from the head of the family. The last stop will be the headquarters of a local group of artisans from three families, with a hands-on opportunity for guests to create a basket of their own as a keepsake.
The weavers of Carretera Austral are located between Quillaipe and Caleta La Arena, about an hour from Hotel AWA. Craftswomen of the region weave sheep’s wool via vertical looms to create blankets, shawls and rugs. Their work involves every step of the process, from sheep shearing to fleece selection, plus scouring, washing, spinning, dyeing and weaving on the loom. There are nine groups of artisan weavers in towns along the Carretera Austral, as well as several women who pursue the weaving craft on their own, more than 70 weavers altogether.
Hotel AWA’s Wool Route excursion offers guests the opportunity to learn about the weaving in detail, with visits to three workshops, starting at the home of Leonila Chávez, head of the Chaica Weavers Workshop, for a demonstration of the age-old process of dyeing sheep’s wool in a bonfire from branches, leaves, roots, and fruits. The excursion continues to Caleta Gutiérrez, a small village where members of Taller Vista Al Mar offer hands-on instruction in the art of spinning fleece on a traditional spindle to create strands of fine yarn. Guests will also learn about the traditional brocade loom weaving technique revitalized by the Taller Vista Al Mar.
Guests will then visit Lenca and the house of artisan Glady Cabero, maker of beautiful plaid blankets and knotted rugs characteristic of local textile tradition. Cabero’s home reveals much about the life of a Mapuche woman, farmer, artisan and healer. A tour of her greenhouses and lunch with her family are part of the experience.
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