The island of Taquile is situated in Lake Titicaca in the Peruvian High Andean Plateau and is known for its textile art. This art is produced by both men and women, regardless of their age, and worn by all community members. Taquile was relatively isolated from the mainland until the 1950s when it began its textile arts production. The notion of community is still very strong among its people. They have organized community life and have used collective decision-making systems. The weaving tradition on the island dates back to the ancient Inca, Pukara, and Colla civilizations, which has kept alive aspects of the pre-Hispanic Andean cultures. A large part of Taquile is occupied with textile art. Children are taught techniques from an early age by their parents. They have fun with spinning wheels as they learn to spin and prepare wool for adults to use. At four, even younger, they have fun with spinning wheels too. Generally, by the age of twelve, they begin to master basic techniques for making simple fabrics and move on to more complex garments.
Men and women both learn the elaboration methods, although the ladies specialize in weaving pieces such as girdles or chumpis, colorful blankets or llicllas, and small bags or chuspas, while the men experience the ornamentation through clothing such as vests, sweaters, and chullos. The pedal loom, or Awana, is used by the men for this, while the women work on the floor loom called pampa Awana. This is made up of four stakes nailed into the ground arranged into the shape and size of the fabric that is needed. The designs that are embroidered are very varied and resemble rivers, stars, birds, alpacas, and flowers. The symbols represent abundance, communal land, marriage, payment, and weather predictions. The "Cara de Urdimbre" technique is one of the most common textile techniques used in Taquile, which involves ordering all the fabric together when preparing the threads. In this work, the entire population of Taquile is involved, although the tasks are assigned according to gender, depending on the type of garment a person is making. Another technique used in crochet. While new, contemporary symbols and images have been introduced to Taquile textile art, the traditional style and techniques have been maintained.
The Taquile community has a school that specializes in Taquile handicrafts, ensuring its viability and continuity. Tourism has contributed to the development of the communal economy, which is dominated by the textile trade. While tourism has been acknowledged as an effective tool in maintaining the continuity of the textile tradition, growing demand has caused significant changes in the material, production, and meaning of the products. Taquile has experienced rapid population growth over the last few decades, resulting in resource shortages and an increased reliance on imports.
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