Our Story

In 2016, the nonprofit HOP Hands on Peru built a Public Health Center "CESAPU" in Trujillo - Peru, in order to promote public and preventive health services to marginalized communities. In 2017, we began working with the mothers who live around, in our community program “Madre Cesapu", teaching them how to knit & crochet, and slowly started selling their products to friends & visitors. Since then, the participating women of Chimuk, have transformed into talented artisans and have thus revolutionized their lives, earning a decent & dignified living wage, learning new skills, and building community.

The Artisans 

We have worked closely with 27 Peruvian women, training since 2018 in all aspects of knit and crochet artwork. For 80% of the artisans, this is their only source of income, and for most it is their first real job. Other typical sources of income are: raising guinea pigs, harvesting tomatoes & cucumbers, and baking cakes. Most of our artisans learned the skill of knitting through Chimuk trainings & YouTube videos. It has been an honor to see them grow in their skills & their self-satisfaction for the last 3 years.

Holistic Program

Chimuk started as a women's bi-weekly social-emotional wellbeing program called "Madre CESAPU" in 2017. After meeting the women & understanding their true needs, we began to strengthen their capacities through knitting, a beautiful & traditional art that runs through the veins of Peru. Some of our artisans knit as girls, others learned from watching their aunts & mothers knit. Many we have trained ourselves. Our program is so much more than simply knitting, however. We focus on:

Social & Emotional Wellbeing by creating safe spaces for the artisans to relax and grow into themselves & create friendships with each other.

Physical Wellbeing by ensuring each artisan has access to primary care, dental care and preventive healthcare, along with their children.

Financial Wellbeing by giving the artisans the largest possible percentage of profits. 

Familial Wellbeing - We provide free childcare for the artisans' children while they are in knitting sessions. 

Our sponsoring NGO

Hands on Peru is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that built CESAPU - Centro de Salud Publica (or Center for Public Health) in December 2016. Hands on Peru focuses on expanding access to primary health care & preventive health in Peru, and building community capacity to empower and engage people in their health. Chimuk is one of the 9 interactive public health programs that Hands on Peru has designed & sustained throughout the last 4 years. Learn more at www.handsonperu.org