Weaving Stories Across Borders: A Journey Through Textile Traditions in Peru

By Caroline Ponce, University of Texas at Austin

My name is Carolina Ponce, and I’m a rising senior studying Mechanical Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin. I was born and raised in Texas, but my roots are deeply influenced by my family’s Latin American heritage. Over the past few years, I’ve found myself increasingly drawn to research that lives at the intersection of design, culture, and human experience. This summer, that curiosity has taken me to Peru, where I am immersing myself in the world of traditional textile artisanship for a couple of months. 

Outside of school, I love exploring new places, learning from other’s experiences, and finding creative ways to connect seemingly unrelated ideas. Whether through volunteering, outdoor adventures, or simply striking up conversations in local markets, I am always searching for the “why” behind the way people live and create. I’m especially passionate about projects that allow me to combine engineering with social impact and cultural understanding. This summer’s research project reflects that passion in a powerful way.

My research centers on the traditional textile practices found in rural Peruvian communities, particularly those along the Ruta Barroca Andina, a region where Andean and colonial influences converge in art and identity. My main research question is: How do traditional textile techniques and community-based workshops support women’s economic independence and cultural preservation in the Andean highlands? To explore this, I’m conducting ethnographic fieldwork, including interviews and participatory observation with women who work in local textile workshops. I’m learning firsthand how textiles are more than just economic goods—they are carriers of ancestral knowledge, social resilience, and creative innovation.

So far, I’ve been living and working in Andahuaylillas, a small town near Cusco, and I’ll be traveling to surrounding rural communities over the next several weeks to deepen my understanding of how different regions maintain and adapt to their textile traditions. I’m also documenting visual patterns, production methods, and material sourcing to understand the full ecosystem of textile craftsmanship. In many ways, my engineering background has helped me appreciate the complexity and intentionality of each step. There’s precision in this kind of artistry, and it has opened my eyes to new ways of thinking about design, sustainability, and labor.

As I continue my journey, I’m most looking forward to unexpected lessons and relationships, those moments of exchange that happen over shared meals, bus rides, or spontaneous invitations to help in the workshop. At the same time, I know I’ll face challenges. I sometimes worry about how to respectfully balance being a student and an outsider, or how to synthesize everything I’m learning into research that truly honors the people I’m working with. To address this, I’m staying grounded in listening, reflection, and collaboration—always seeking to be led by the voices of those who live the culture I’m trying to understand.

I hope to leave Peru not just with a research paper, but with deeper relationships and a clearer sense of how I can bring this knowledge into my future. This summer is not just about looking at textiles; it’s about learning how tradition, innovation, and identity are within people’s lives. And that is the kind of research journey I’ve always dreamed of taking.