In the modern world it is important that we all work together to support the more disadvantaged people and that is exactly what Mirasol are doing through the Mirasol Project. In this article we will give you some information about what the Mirasol project is, why it was formed and how it is helping.
What is the Mirasol Project?
The Mirasol Project was set up by the company Mitchell and Co., who own the Mallkini ranch. Although they have always been ethical employers they wanted to take things further and really support the local community. They are based in Peru and in 2006 decided to set up the Mirasol Project to help disadvantaged children in the local area. The project was actually named after a little girl called Mirasol who along with her brother, Alex helps to look after a herd of 3,000 Alpaca in the Peruvian Andes. Very few people in her community can read or write and their general health the very poor. The most worrying thing is there is little chance to escape the poverty and that is what the Mirasol project is trying to change. A proportion of every sale from Mirasol projects goes into funding a centre that has been set up in the remote area of Munani in the region of Puno to help these communities.
What is being achieved by the Mirasol Project?
The centre in Munani has been set up and now houses around 30 children of the local shepherds. The aim is to give them a safe place to stay with shelter, food, a clean water supply and also an education as there are a number of teachers who also live at the centre. The plan is to expand the centre over time so that it can accommodate 100 children from the local villages providing them with an education.
The activities that take place at the centre are expanding all of the time and it is imperative that the local community feels involved and so the parents are often included in activities. For example on Mother's day a big celebration was held where the families came for a meal and the children prepared and performed songs for their parents.
The centre also focuses on improving the health of the children and it does this in a number of ways including advice. One of the things that has been taught is how to take care of their teeth and each child has been provided with a toothbrush. In addition the centre arranges for a local dentist to come to the centre on a regular basis to check the children's teeth. It has also been arrange for a local doctor to visit regularly and monitor the health of the children.
The communities that the centre services are Indian and speak a language called Quechua however the national language of Peru is Spanish. As very few people in their community speak Spanish when they go to school they are completely lost and often fall behind and become isolated quickly. At the centre the teachers speak both Quechua and Spanish to help develop the children's skills, confidence and education.
How can you help the Mirasol Project?
That is quite simple really, all you need to do is purchase Mirasol products and you will be supporting the vulnerable children. Jane Ellison has created a number of interesting and exciting designs that can be created with Mirasol yarns. With a percentage of both the sale of pattern books and yarns going to help the children maybe your next knitting project should include the use of these great materials that are not only ethical but also extremely good quality.
Author Resource:
This article has been supplied by Mercedes Aspland for theknitting yarn shop. You can also find Mirasol Yarn on our site.
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed
Print This Article
Add To Favorites
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.look4articles.com/images/rss.jpg "XML Feed For RSS")