The community of Puerto Aysén connects with nature through the development of a collective textile work

Puerto Aysén – Over the course of four meetings, we had the opportunity to connect with women and young people from Puerto Aysén, with whom we shared and collaborated on a collective artwork: connecting art, community, and nature. This was all part of the Kreen Foundation project, carried out in collaboration with Pulso Austral, “Weaving Networks for the Conservation of the Meullín-Puye Sanctuary.”

This project involved the participation of the Santa Teresa High School, the Laguna and Río Los Palos Development Committee, residents of Puerto Aysén, and the support of the Municipality of Aysén. It included four sessions with the community of this town. In the first session, participants reflected on their knowledge of the local wildlife species, drawing and painting nature; in the second, they learned about mineral dyes and dyed individual fabrics and the canvas that will form the basis of the collective artwork; and in the third, they learned to embroider designs featuring species found in the Sanctuary.

The fourth meeting, held on January 13, 2024, was facilitated by Olga Aldauc, a textile recycler and entrepreneur from Bahía Murta. In this meeting, we recreated the fauna, flora, and fungi present in the sanctuary and its surroundings, applying the textile recycling technique (patchwork). This led to the design of the final artwork, incorporating the individual embroidery and textile work learned in previous meetings.

This resulted in artistic creations featuring güiñas (kodkods), puyes (a type of rodent), Darwin’s frogs, condors, chucaos (a type of bird), caranchos (a type of hawk), cantarias (a type of bird), red bumblebees, huillines (a type of river otter), arrayán (a type of myrtle), ferns, calafate (a type of shrub), laurels, and chilcos (a type of shrub), among many other species.

To conclude the day, all the participants collaborated on the composition and design of the final canvas. It was an opportunity to learn how each species relates to its environment and the species that surround it.

Presentation of the final work

At the Puerto Aysén Public Library, we invited all members of the community who participated in this process to share and see the result: a large textile artwork.

This was the culmination of “Weaving Networks for the Conservation of the Meullín-Puye Nature Sanctuary.”

At this event, the collective work and some of its creators who were able to attend were the stars of the day. Guests and artists alike were amazed by the result.

The artwork consists of naturally dyed fabrics, embroidery, and recycled textile pieces that brought to life species inhabiting the Los Palos River, the Sanctuary, and its surroundings, such as the güiña (kodkod), the puye (a type of rodent), the red bumblebee, the cantaria (a type of bird), the carancho (a type of hawk), and some of the flora, including the arrayán (myrtle), lenga (a type of bee), and pelú (a type of tree), among others.

Olga Aldauc, a textile artisan and recycler from Bahía Murta, was responsible for harmoniously sewing each piece, unifying the work of each participant onto the main canvas.

During the day, a discussion was also held about the custodian of the collective work and a reflection on the experience and how each person managed to connect with nature through this collaborative work.

Tejiendo redes (Weaving Networks) was facilitated and developed using the methodology of @pulso_austral, and supported by @muniaysen, the Laguna y Río Los Palos Development Committee, the Santa Teresa de los Andes School, and residents of Puerto Aysén.

Fundación Kreen expressed its gratitude to all those who participated in and supported this project.