Our artisans are indigenous women of the Shipibo-Konibo tribe originally from the Ucayalí region of Peru that have settled in the diasporic community of Cantagallo in Lima.
The Shipibo-Konibo are the third largest ethnic group in the Peruvian Amazon. Cantagallo is the home of over 320 Shipibo-Konibo families that immigrated in search of work and education, many of which sell their art and artisan textiles as a means of living. The Madres Artesanas de Cantagallo, are the collective of women artisans in the community who do the embroidery for each piece and also sell tapestries and local handicrafts.
Olinda Silvano Reshinjabe
Olinda is an artist, artisan, singer, human rights activist, and leader in her community of Cantagallo. Her murals are featured in several public works and museums around Lima have become the official history of the indigenous stamp on national identity. She leads a collective of madres artesanas (artisan mothers) in Cantagallo, where their kené designs in art and artisan handicrafts share their vision of the cosmos, revealing the origin and the close links between the community and their native land. As a young girl in Ucayalí, she was chosen by her community to promote the culture and indigenous identity of the Shipibo-Konibo and has dedicated her life to sharing her culture and help migrant indigenous women.