Sustainability in Conflict: Crafting the Future of Junco Basketry (Talk)

How to achieve sustainability for the craft sector in a scenario of climate change and market expansion? This presentation shows the way to achieve such sustainability whilst contributing to the discussion about the life-cycles of material resources. Junco is a vegetable-fiber that grows in the Peruvian wetlands. For the last 5000 years this material has been used by basketry artisans from Huara, a province next to Caral. The artisans perceive that the availability of junco has diminished due to environmental and economic factors. The increased demand for junco is affecting the wetland’s ecosystem. Woven baskets made from vegetable fiber are in high-demand due a plastic ban that resulted from strengthened environmental policies in Peru.