Ermelinda was barely 13 when she started knitting. She was not taught during “El Encierro” or Confinement, (Confinement is the ritual when a girl becomes a woman and learns to behave according to the traditions of Wayúu society), nor did her family members like the other artisans.

Ermelinda tells us that she learned by watching other people do it. She looked in detail at the weavers in her community and then picked up the threads and needle and tried to repeat the stitches she saw, until she succeeded.

She knows how to make hammocks and “Mochilas” and she told us that she enjoys knitting a lot, because while doing so she organizes her ideas and can help her children, who are two and four years old.

She likes to knit all the pieces of the “ Mochila” equally and told us that the squares and colors of the 2018 Fusion Collection are very nice. She feels grateful to work with Waré Crafts, because they give her materials and instructions in an organized way and because she works with people she can trust.