Yanawara | Ethically made by Bolivian artisans

Ethically made by Bolivian artisans. Curation & Design.

Thousands of Bolivian families support their day-to-day living expenses with handcrafted work. But not just any kind of handcrafted work…

The designs crafted by Bolivian artisans are one-of-a-kind, sustainable, traditional, high-quality pieces of artwork made with personalized love and care. These products are a channeling of the artisans’ self-expression…

Beautifully intricate textile and knit pieces produced by these talented artists have helped preserve the local Andean culture while also blessing the world with their talent. The skills and techniques they use are passed down by generations to create dexterously produced garments and accessories.

Bolivia's unique positioning in the Andean nation gives it access to many specialty material and fabrics that are not available anywhere else in the world. Luxurious alpaca, llama and the traditional aguayo textile, are materials used by Bolivian artisans to create these beautiful designs. 

My name is Pamela. I am originally from Bolivia but have been living in New York since 2017. I dedicated the first part of my life to working on social and sustainable projects, marketing, and collaborating with artisans from around the globe to support their projects. My professional work allowed me to meet artisans, appreciate their work and learn about their challenges, traditions, and history.

This is how Yanawara was born.

Yanawara is a purpose-driven start-up business dedicated to the curation and design of clothing and accessories ethically made by Bolivian artisans. I take pride in the fact that I am a woman; our target audience is mostly women, and that I work mostly with women artisans.

At Yanawara, we work closely with artisan partners. Our designs are made mostly by Bolivian women artisans who combine traditional techniques and natural fibers in timeless designs. We co-create or design with artisans and honor their techniques and traditions. They are not our employees; they work independently to fulfill our orders. These local artisans work from their homes or small workshops under safe and fair conditions. We are proud to announce that they are paid fair prices. We make sure that the production process is transparent, starting with the wool sourcing, which is also locally sourced in the Bolivian Andes. The alpaca wool is sourced by local communities following an ancient tradition of mutual breeding which involves, respect, love, and care for the animals, plants, people, and all the environment - one of Yanawara’s key values.

At Yanawara, our mission is threefold:

At Yanawara, we make sure to preserve fair trade principles and ethical values. We have developed a sustainable business model that supports our people while also protecting our planet. The partners who contribute to our company are mostly women heads of households that have innovative proposals for production and design, which preserve the culture of making products in an artisanal way. We respect the environment and our partners receive fair economic recognition for their work.

Unfortunately, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on our sales. Not only has the pandemic affected the artisan industry as a whole but also their families by reducing each family’s income. 

We would like to do everything in our power to remedy this loss. Yanawara is committed to providing sustainable, high-quality products to its customers while supporting the local artisans’ efforts to preserve their livelihoods. We have seen an increase in sales in recent months, but we still have a revenue gap that needs to be filled; this means that we have fewer resources for production, making it difficult to meet our demand for Holiday sales in December 2021.

Our artisan partners create timeless alpaca pieces that could last many years and overpass any seasonal trend - the true definition of ethical and sustainable fashion. We also curate pieces in leather and traditional textiles from a diverse group of artisans that are doing an incredible job. 

From our Pankara Alpaca Poncho made out of 100% alpaca wool to our Alpaquita earrings made of thread, all our products are made with pure love and care.

Please visit our website (www.yanawara.com) and Instagram page (@yanawaranyc) to find out more about our products.

With this crowdfunding campaign, we seek to raise $6,000. Our goal is big but our commitment is bigger. We require this funding to be able to generate production orders with our artisan partners for the last period of 2021 and make sure to have sufficient inventory for the Holidays.

The funds raised will be utilized as follows:

We would love for you to be a part of this goal. With your support, Yanawara will be able to continue its holiday production and fulfill orders from our best sellers, while producing more timeless pieces.

Having this boost will also help our artisan partners financially recover from the loss they have experienced during the pandemic. It will also allow us to thank and honor their work with a small Holiday bonus. We strive to make sure our partners receive a fair income, better living conditions and continue to break boundaries with their talent and love for their craft. Your contributions will support us achieve all of these goals.

To increase sales and drive demand for our products, we will present our beautiful, handcrafted designs at various markets in New York City (in Manhattan and Brooklyn) during the Holiday season, besides all the efforts we make to drive sales online.

Do your early Holiday shopping with us!

If you contribute to this campaign, you will receive beautiful, ethically made, and sustainable pieces as a reward for supporting our cause. As a token of our appreciation, we will send you some of our bestseller alpaca products as well as some small accessories.

We chose our rewards very carefully to show Yanawara's appreciation for your contribution. Each of the special packages you will receive in the mail was put together with extra love and care.

If you’re not in a position to contribute to our campaign, we understand. This has been a tough time for everyone. We would appreciate if you could share our campaign with your friends and family who may be interested in supporting our cause.

Please also don’t forget to visit our website (www.yanawara.com) and Instagram page (@yanawaranyc), and interact with us.

We hope you join us on this journey of introducing high-quality, traditionally handcrafted Bolivian garments and accessories to the world. Become a part of this campaign and support incredibly talented Bolivian artisans as they continue to share their tremendous talent with the world!

Thank you very much in advance for all your contributions and support. We can’t wait to ship your alpaca products out, just in time for the Holidays!

Let us shine a light on your holiday. Yanawara– the star that comes from far.