Skip to main content

Bolivian Knitters


If one is of a certain age the images beside this writing are familiar as clothing from the 60s and 70s.  As a member of the Baby Boomers you recognize the hat or poncho.  These types of hand knit or hand woven wear could be found in most hippie shops and were very affordable to boot.  The distinctive colours and designs clearly marked them as having been made in South America.


The story of how the end products of these skilled wool artists got to a worldwide market is a story told in many cultures.  Native individuals, often at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder, would find a way to sell their traditional wares to a global market.  (I will speak more about this in a few weeks after a class I intend to take.)  Peoples, generally women, from South America, India, Africa, and even North America have found ways to support themselves by using their crafting skills.  

Cardiologist, Franz Freudenthal, from La Paz, Bolivia, has taken advantage of indigenous Aymara women's centuries of experience in knitting and weaving to save lives.  He has discovered a solution to block a hole in the hearts of children born with such a defect.  And the device he uses is ¨knit¨ by Aymara women.  Recently the BBC covered the phenomenon in a report found here.  The story is worth a look.

Dr. Fredenthal states he wanted to find a really, really simple solution to a complex problem.  Certainly using those already skilled in knitting and weaving is a simple approach.  This craft for me is actually saving children lives in Bolivia and beyond.  I can't find words to say how proud, amazed and overjoyed I am about this.  Even in 2015, when technology seems to rule many facets of life, knitters' skills can be used to help solve serious problems and save lives.  Incredible!

Thank you Jami and John for sharing this article with me.

Comments

  1. Unknown31 March 2015 at 13:49

    Traditional knowledge to the rescue!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. JFlag31 March 2015 at 15:02

      Yes, as incredible as it is to believe, that knowledge can still change the world.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Anatomy of a Sock

I've been knitting socks for a relatively short time.  One of the disconcerting things for me as I started following patterns for socks is the pattern designer assumes the knitter (in this case that would be me) knows all the parts of a sock.  So I thought I'd devote a post to improve my own knowledge about the anatomy of a sock and maybe some of you will learn something about the humble yet necessary sock as well. Here's the names of the parts of the foot as I know them. #49 ankle, #50 heel, #51, instep, #52 ball, #53 big toe, #54 toe, #55 little toe, #56 toenail. There are some parts more important for this discussion; first the heel of a foot is generally used to refer to the entire C-shape from the ankle to the instep.  Speaking of the instep, it refers to that curve near the bottom of the foot.  And what seems to be missing in the design above is the sole which generally refers to the bottom of the foot in total or plantar aspect in more technical terms...
5 comments
Read more

Yarn Barf

It's back to quirkiness and time to step away again from the cuteness for a while.  But as you see I'm someone who slips from one to the other without much effort so anticipate this back and forth to be my new normal. A dramatization of me in the midst of my startitist frenzy Yarn barf .  I'm willing to bet you hadn't thought of putting those two words together, had you?  It just so happens yarn barf can be a reoccurring pain for those of us who use yarns that come in a skein instead of a hank.  (No pun intended regarding the current Noro virus, well maybe a little pun.) Skeins of yarn wound by the manufacturer These are hanks which need to be wound into balls  If you look closely at the picture on the right you'll see the start on the millet yellow skein at the centre right of the photo.  Its start can easily be seen coming from the centre of the skein onto the violet skein to the left.  Easy to find, right! ...
28 comments
Read more

Yarn Usage II: Crochet vs. Knit

All four swatches were made.  Each is 6.25" or 15.875 cm square; each prepared with the same sized yarn and needles or hook.  It took 25 stitches to get the appropriate width for the knit swatches and only 20 stitches for both of the crocheted squares.  That already says something, but I'll get to it in a minute.  (Don't know what I'm talking about here?  Check out this post first.) Unfortunately, you'll just have to trust me that four swatches were prepared and that they were all the same size.  In the excitement to get to measuring and weighing of the swatches, no photographic evidence was taken.  Luckily for me the results of this research doesn't have to be reviewed by a jury of my peer.  This blog post will be the sum and total of where this information is published. The remains of my four swatches What can be shared, however, are the balls of yarn rewound after the weighing and measuring was completed.  You will note the size ...
5 comments
Read more