Chile Con Karen: Crin, Horsehair

Sara Toro Fuentes, Temuco Chile
Website: http://www.maestramadre.cl/
E-mail: maestramadre@gmail.com
Phone: (56)(9) 92670162 - (56)(9) 94477181

Audio Interview: Sara and Guillermina

(http://dl.dropbox.com/u/65165954/Sara.mp3)

Bio:

Sara (pictured center) first learned crin horsehair craftwork from her mother around the age of 7. Such is the case for most children in her hometown, Rari. Although the small town’s population weighs in around 600, its residents have passed down the obscure practice for over 300 years. Historians do not really know how or why crin first appeared, but Sara tells me that to this day, crin remains único, or unique, to Rari. The news comes of surprise considering how ubiquitous horses are worldwide.

To Sara, crin and other handmade products are valuable because they possess alma, or soul. Crin’s mystifying and long-standing cultural history motivate Sara to continue the practice. To illustrate, this is what her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother all did: the craftwork is integral to their lifestyle. Much like the Mapuche weavers I visited, she finds making crin relaxing, and sales help stock the kitchen with staples from her neighbors’ farms.

Bookmarks

Now the mother of two children, however, Sara worries about the legacy of crin. More and more people are leaving Rari in pursuit of work opportunities and higher education in cities, like Talca and Santiago. The owner of the hostel where I stayed sheds light on another perspective, “no vale la pena,” or crin is not worth the effort. She continues, Crin is beautiful, but I stopped decades ago because it requires diligence, sharp eyesight, and nimble fingers. “Te agota,” It is exhausting. By opening up extra rooms in her two-story home, this woman earns about $12 USD a night per guest: twice the price of each of the labor-intensive crin butterflies displayed. In other words, crin is hardly profitable, and others in Rari prefer relatively easier, more lucrative jobs.

In response to a marked decline in crin sales during the 1990s and fears that crin will disappear altogether, Sara spearheaded an artisan collective called Maestra Madre, or Mother Teacher, in 1998. When I ask for details about the group’s founding, she excitedly recounts how 50 women originally showed up for an informational meeting. Ultimately, 19 committed to form the final group, and they were pleasantly surprised by how quickly they earned a government grant to design and build their own sede, or headquarters. Since then, Maestra Madre has developed a strong reputation, featured crin at international venues including Brazil, Argentina, and the United States, and even won an UNESCO award of excellence. All the while, Sara’s nostalgic speech flows eloquently, subtly revealing the years of practice she has spent pitching Maestra Madre to potential investors, customers, and students.

at the Maestra Madre Salesroom

Brujas, or Witches

Flowers

According to Sara, the collective is the predominant reason for Maestra Madre’s success. Even though dozens of crin stands line Rari’s streets, they are the only formal group of artisans. With Sara as their motivated president, the women of Maestra Madre accept only the highest-quality work from one another, take turns running the storefront, and attend weekly meetings to discuss upcoming events, logistics, funding, and sales. Highlights of the collective’s community outreach include educational workshops with students from neighboring towns, some of whom have never seen crin before. Sara laughs, The other day, one boy hid under his desk when we started teaching crin. He thought it was only for girls, but when we were young, boys and girls did crin here in Rari. Although Maestra Madre also leads some educational workshops in Santiago and regularly receives invitations to international fairs, Sara explains that running these off-site endeavors proves tricky. It is hard to leave behind the peacefulness of Rari for long.

Sporadic Internet connection, limited government funding, remote location, and a less interested younger generation present challenges to the future of crin. Despite this, Sara and fellow members have high hopes for Maestra Madre and enthusiastically shared ideas for making their collective more accessible, improving sales, and expanding upon their educational programs.