KUSIKUY knitters are Aymara and Quechua pre-Inca descendents. They belong to independent cooperatives and communities. Many members live in simple adobe homes with thatched grass roofs and no electricity or running water. Some knitters manage small organic farms caring for llamas and sheep, and cultivating wheat, potatoes and "quinoa," a high protein Andean grain. Those living near the shores of Lake Titicaca tend alpaca herds. Knitters are paid a fair wage for their work and participate in skills workshops and personal growth opportunities. Several knitters have traveled to the USA and Europe receiving international recognition for the quality of their work. Earnings from knitting go towards improving living conditions for families and strengthening native communities..

La Imilla
Located in the high tropical valleys of Cochabamba, Bolivia, the La Imilla Knitting Cooperative is a 28+ member cooperative that works with fine knitwear made of the highest quality super fine alpaca fleece.

This internationally recognized cooperative is made of native women of the Arani region. Organized in 1979, La Imilla is an association of craftswomen created to improve the social and economic condition of rural women. Imilla is a Quechua word that means "young woman" and has been adopted as the name of the organization as a symbol of its cultural heritage and a sign of respect to the young women of Bolivia.

Since 1982, La Imilla has received training through the Panamanian Cooperatives Administration and Canadian volunteer services, and international support from the United States and England. In 1993, La Imilla received the "Quality Award" in Chicago, USA and attended the Native Women's Handicrafts meeting in Guatamala. They were also selected to represent Andean knitters at the USA Indian Museum Indian Handicraft Festival and received recognition for their high quality knitwear by industry experts in Madrid, Spain.

La Imillia hand knits the entire KUSIKUY Luxury Alpaca line. This cooperative of 18 core members more than doubles in size as additional knitters join to knit larger orders.

Quaytu
Three years old and growing strong, Peru's Qaytu, (pronounced kie'-tu) meaning "woven" in the native language of Quechua, is a full fiber production organization. Members of the rural indigenous community, Viyacocha, in the Peruvian Andes raise their own alpaca herds, hand sheer the fleece, and knit it into many of KUSIKUY's adult alpaca products. Qaytu partners with neighboring communities to source the rare Pima cotton that is professionally spun with their alpaca. The mill processing this combined fiber follows all guidelines for full organic fiber certification.

Qaytu works exclusively with Peru's impoverished, isolated mountain communities bringing training, education, and important income to both men and women. The men care for the vast alpaca herds. Qaytu has helped them to improve their herding techniques, sheering processes and built special sheering floors in central communities to preserve the quality of the sheered fleece. Qaytu purchases the sheered alpaca direct from the communities it serves and transports it to Lima's finest mills to have it carefully spun and into many fine grades of alpaca yarn.

The rural women are taught fine hand knitting and hand looming techniques using the yarns produced by their own community's herds. They hand loom on professional grade artesian knitting machines donated by the European Community. Knitting is done together often at the town schoolhouse. This gives the women an important time to socialize, share and learn from each other. Participants earn a valuable income for the production of the fine knits.